The horrific story surrounding the murder of an electrician who was shot dead before having acid poured over him will be revealed in a new podcast. Dad-of-two Liam Smith, 38, was killed yards from his front door in Wigan in November last year.
02.09.2023 - 13:33 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
It has been a busy month in our region's courts.
Nurse Lucy Letby was jailed for the rest of her life for killing seven babies; a couple were jailed for the brutal killing of Liam Smith in Wigan; a man was locked up for killing Tyson Fury’s cousin and another man is starting a life sentence for murdering his ex-partner’s teenage son.
Also locked up this month was the head of a family-run meet and greet parking business, a depraved rapist and a paedophile who groomed a 12-year-old girl.
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Prison terms are handed out to the most serious offenders. Manchester Evening News reporters are on the press bench each day to cover such cases.
Here are the criminals across the region locked up in our courts in August.
The man who murdered Rico Burton - Tyson Fury's cousin - has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years. Liam O'Pray, 22, knifed 31-year-old Mr Burton in Altrincham town centre in the early hours of August 21 last year.
He was found guilty of wounding with intent in relation to another man, Harvey Reilly, who was also seriously hurt. A jury heard O'Pray, from Salford, armed himself with a lock knife, which he plunged into Mr Burton's neck during a 3am brawl outside King Pong bar.
The wound 'almost completely divided' a major artery in Mr Burton's neck, causing 'a massive, fatal haemorrhage', Manchester Crown Court heard. A huge outpouring of grief from friends and family followed.
Jailing O'Pray, of Little Moss Lane, Swinton, for the mandatory life sentence for murder, Judge Alan Conrad KC ordered that the father-of-one serve a minimum of 28 years before parole. He told the defendant: "You were a stabbing waiting to happen. Yet again
The horrific story surrounding the murder of an electrician who was shot dead before having acid poured over him will be revealed in a new podcast. Dad-of-two Liam Smith, 38, was killed yards from his front door in Wigan in November last year.
Killer nurse Lucy Letby, who murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more, was among the worst offenders sent to jail in the UK in the last month. The 'evil' serial killer will die behind bars after being handed a whole-life term, while more than 10 other offenders jailed in August will spend at least two decades locked up for their crimes.
A doctor who helped catch killer nurse Lucy Letby said she came to a shocking conclusion after being handed a dossier of evidence. Dr Sandie Bohin was called as an expert witness during Letby's trial, which ended with her being found guilty of murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Baby killer Lucy Letby was handed a whole life order this week after murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more while working as an NHS nurse. The 33-year-old refused to face her victims’ families in court as they read out harrowing statements telling how she ripped their lives apart.
As Michael Hillier and Rachel Fulstow enjoyed the Jamaican sun - posing for pictures astride horses in the crystal clear Caribbean Sea - they had no idea the net was closing in. They thought they'd got away with murder.
The family of a man killed in cold blood screamed at one of the murderers in court and told him he should 'hang from a noose'.
An hour long documentary detailing the investigation into serial child killer Lucy Letby has been released by the police team who brought her to justice.
This is the horrifying moment Liam Smith was shot outside his home in Wigan.
Staring into the camera following their arrest in the wake of an unthinkable act of violence, this is the killer couple behind the murder of a father in a gun and acid attack. Ex-partners Michael Hillier and Rachel Fulstow were today (Wednesday, July 23) convicted of Liam Smith's murder.
A former couple who plotted the killing of an electrician before he was shot and doused in acid have both been found GUILTY of murder. Michael Hillier blasted dad-of-two Liam Smith in the face yards from his home in Wigan, before throwing sulphuric acid over his body.
The father of murdered police officer Nicola Hughes has said a law change following the refusal of Lucy Letby to attend her sentencing hearing may cause “more anguish” for the families of victims.
The former CEO at the hospital where Lucy Letby murdered seven babies went to become a director of one Greater Manchester’s biggest hospital trusts – just months after resigning during the police investigation into the killer nurse.
Families who lost loved ones in the Manchester Arena bombing have joined growing calls for the most serious criminals to be forced to attend sentencing hearings.
A hospital consultant said he was made to feel he was 'a problem' when he blew the whistle on killer nurse Lucy Letby.
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Serial baby killer Lucy Letby will spend the rest of her life behind bars after receiving the UK's most severe punishment for her crimes.
These are all the words the judge said as Lucy Letby, the nurse who murdered babies on the neonatal unit where she worked, was sentenced today (Monday) at Manchester Crown Court.
The flag above Manchester Crown Court is flying at half mast this afternoon as a mark of respect to the victims of Lucy Letby. It comes as the neonatal nurse is set to be taken from the court building to begin spending the rest of her life in prison.
The mum of a baby murdered by Lucy Letby has told a court how the evil nurse only had one word for the parents of the seven babies she killed.
Lucy Letby has become one of few female murderers in the UK to receive a whole life sentence - meaning they will never be released from prison.