Killer caretaker, ‘Winter Barber’ and drug dealer who shot man in head jailed

A drug dealer who shot a man in the head but was cleared of murder has been jailed. Shay Walker was acquitted after a trial of the murder of Peter Hale – who died aged 50 on February 4 this year, four days after suffering a single gunshot wound at his own home on Haslingden Close in Old Swan.

The 26-year-old defendant allegedly told his victim: “I brought this for you, you bastards”, as he pulled out a gun and shot him dead over a £500 drugs debt, after the deceased and his sibling had… .apparently smoked crack cocaine that they had been given to sell. He admitted he was the shooter but claimed he was “joking” and “didn’t think the gun was loaded.”

Walker was unanimously found not guilty of murder by a jury of six men and six women, as well as the lesser counts of manslaughter and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, after six hours and three minutes of deliberations. The convicted drug dealer had previously been guilty of possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing ammunition without a certificate.

Judge Freedman, who presided over Walker’s trial, jailed him for seven years and one month. This included five years and four months for the firearms offenses and 21 months for breaching a suspended sentence imposed in July 2023 for possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply.

Jordan Foster and Joshua Bednarek

A gang locked another man in a hotel room and attacked him, breaking his eye socket and one of his teeth. Jordan Foster, Joshua Bednarek and Callum Higgins had bumped into their victim on a night out and invited him back to their hotel before assaulting him and stealing his bank card and phone.

All three men pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and robbery, with Foster pleading guilty to a further count of battery. He was sentenced to 35 months in prison, Bednarek received 32 months in prison and Higgins received a two-year prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

James O’Keefe and Kerry Russell

A Liverpool gang used vulnerable teenagers to sell drugs in Cheshire, West Mercia and Scotland. James O’Keefe controlled multiple drug lines from his prison cell in HMP Risley, recruiting children to carry out risky drug smuggling operations on his behalf.

Kerry Russell and Ruby O’Keefe were also involved in the far-reaching drug network and child exploitation. All three pleaded guilty to modern slavery offenses and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

James O’Keefe also pleaded guilty to concern in the supply of class B drugs and possession of a prohibited article in a prison. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Russell was sentenced to four years and four months in prison. Ruby O’Keefe was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for one year.

Martin Taylor

A man caught throwing ‘missiles’ at police has been jailed. Martin Taylor was jailed for two years and four months for his involvement in violent scenes in Southport in July.

Mark Nolan and Darren Herilhy

Two criminals who sold Class A drugs and firearms have been jailed following a National Crime Agency investigation. Mark Nolan, 55, and Darren Herlihy, 38, worked on the encrypted communications platform EncroChat before it was taken down in 2020.

Nolan, who used the handles “RobustBronze” and “MasterCastle”, was sentenced to 20 years at Liverpool Crown Court. Herlihy, who used the handle “JerryCoke,” was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Nolan acted as an agent and broker for another user and sold firearms on his behalf. He bought a Tec-9 automatic pistol with between 200 and 400 rounds, a Star 9 pistol with 50 rounds and a Walther PPK with 50 rounds and then sold the weapons to his co-suspect.

Herlihy, who lived on a ship in Burscough, then supplied the weapons to other criminals. He also conspired to supply 2kg of heroin and 136kg of cannabis, while Nolan was involved in deals to supply at least 22.5kg of cocaine, 57kg of cannabis and 3kg of heroin.

Harris Vinten

A man has been jailed after his dog attacked a three-year-old girl, leaving her with serious facial injuries. Harris Vinten’s pit bull attacked the girl outside the Market Tavern Pub in Kirkby.

The incident left the girl with significant facial injuries that required treatment at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. The 32-year-old owner was arrested at the scene and subsequently pleaded guilty to leading a dog that got dangerously out of control and caused injury.

Vinten was imprisoned for sixteen months. He was also banned from owning dogs for four years.

Jayne Hill

A carer who hit her 90-year-old patient over the head with a metal bottle before fatally suffocating her with a pillow has been jailed for life. Jayne Hill sat in her car smoking cigarettes outside Myra Thompson’s home on Bolde Way in Spital, Wirral, as she waited for the pensioner’s bedroom light to go out.

The 52-year-old then entered the address, under the cover of darkness, and brutally murdered the elderly woman. It came after the killer, of Norwich Drive in Upton, was caught red-handed stealing money from the OAP, having previously taken chains and a gold ring from other service users in her care.

Hill, who wore a white bubble coat over a turquoise top and had her hair dyed red, previously admitted murder and four robberies and sat with her head bowed in the dock during today’s hearing. She did not respond because she was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 and a half years.

Carl Murphy

A priest called a drug dealer a “man of humanity and kindness,” but a judge disagreed. Carl Murphy trafficked huge amounts of cocaine and handled hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash while hiding behind the pseudonym “WinterBarber” on the encrypted communications platform EncroChat.

Murphy admitted conspiring to supply cocaine and money laundering. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, wearing glasses and a black suit jacket over a white shirt and tie, he was jailed for 10 and a half years.

Judge Ian Harris said at his sentencing: “(Your priest) described you as a man of humanity and kindness. Providing drugs at the level you did is certainly not humane and kind. It was completely selfish and driven by money. “