Former soap actor denies murder

8 July 2011 Last updated at 10:44 GMT Brian Regan denies murdering doorman Bahman Faraji Former Brookside actor Brian Regan has denied murdering a doorman outside a Liverpool pub.

The 53-year-old, who played Terry Sullivan in the soap, appeared via video-link at Liverpool Crown Court to deny murdering Bahman Faraji.

Mr Faraji, 44, was shot in the head as he left the Belgrave public house in Aigburth on 24 February.

Mr Regan, of St Mary's Road, Garston, also denied perverting the course of justice and was remanded until October.

Christine Line, 48, of the same address, denied perverting the course of justice.

Co-accused Edward Heffey, 40, of Beloe Street, Dingle, Liverpool, Lee Dodson, 42, of Logfield Drive, Garston, and Simon Smart, 32, of Kylemore Way, Liverpool, all pleaded not guilty to murder and were remanded into custody.

A date for a trial to take place at Liverpool Crown Court was set for 4 October.

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Murder plot charges over deaths

8 July 2011 Last updated at 13:01 GMT Mohamed Abdi Farah and Amin Ahmed Ismail were shot in an alleyway in Fishermead Three men have been charged with conspiracy to murder two Somali teenagers in Milton Keynes.

Amin Ahmed Ismail, 18, from Ealing, London, and Mohamed Abdi Farah, 19, of Birmingham, were shot on the Fishermead estate on 26 May.

Yahya Harun, 20; Sharmake Abdulkadir, 20 and Fuad Awale, 23, all from Milton Keynes, appeared at Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court.

They were remanded in custody and to appear at Luton Crown Court on Monday.

Mr Abdulkadir has also been charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

A 17-year-old boy has been released without charge.

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Boy's murder 'as bad as it gets'

3 July 2011 Last updated at 01:42 GMT Yemurai Kanyangarara was the eighth teenager murdered in London this year A senior detective has said the murder of a 16-year-old boy who was stabbed in south-east London is among the worst he has investigated in 25 years.

Yemurai Kanyangarara, from Belvedere, was stabbed in the neck in Welling on Friday evening.

Det Ch Insp Mark Dunne said the attack of "sheer brutality against a defenceless schoolboy" was "about as bad as it gets".

Yemurai has been described by his head teacher as a "kind, gentle lad".

Nigel Fisher, principal at St Columba's Catholic Boys' School in Bexleyheath, said: "He was a very popular and very well-known student, hard working, and just finished his GCSEs.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time."

Mr Dunne said the teenager, who was brought to Britain from Zimbabwe when he was a toddler, stepped off a 96 bus with a friend and was attacked on Upper Wickham Lane, probably within a matter of seconds.

'Catastrophic injuries'

Three boys who had got off another 96 at an earlier stop a few minutes before had walked on to the stop where Yemurai and his friend got off their bus.

"The three boys off the first bus approached them, and one has taken a weapon out of his clothing and stabbed the victim just once in the neck.

"This has caused catastrophic injuries, it seems he has died very quickly after that."

Mr Dunne said police have no clear motive for the killing but suspect that the people who attacked Yemurai knew him.

A man arrested arrested in connection with the murder has been released without further action. Police are appealing for more witnesses.

Yemurai was the eighth teenager murdered in London this year.

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Arrest over murder in town flat

3 July 2011 Last updated at 07:40 GMT A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of an 18-year-old man who was attacked in a flat in Llanidloes in Powys.

The teenager died after in hospital after the assault in a flat in Plynlimon House in Long Bridge street on Saturday morning.

He was flown to hospital in Shrewsbury by air ambulance.

Dyfed-Powys Police said the 20-year-old man is under arrest and in custody. They are appealing for witnesses.

Officers were called to the flat at 1155 BST on Saturday after reports of an assault.

A police spokesperson said the man's next-of-kin have been advised and are being supported by police family liaison officers.

The coroner has also been informed.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or may have information which could help the investigation, is asked to contact police on 101(01267 222020 from outside the force area) or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Rock attack murder attempt charge

3 July 2011 Last updated at 00:19 GMT A man has been charged with the attempted murder of a South African tourist who was repeatedly hit on the head with a rock near York Minster.

The 78-year-old victim was attacked after a stranger struck up a conversation with him at about 2030 BST on Friday.

The tourist was taken to York District Hospital but has since been discharged.

A 43-year-old man from Tadcaster is in custody and is due to appear at York Magistrates' Court on Monday.

The pair were found in the Deans Park area after witnesses called police.

Officers said the South African had been enjoying an evening of sightseeing when he was attacked.

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Pair deny Stephen Lawrence murder

1 July 2011 Last updated at 10:33 GMT Gary Dobson and David Norris will stand trial at the Old Bailey in November Two men charged with the murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993 have pleaded not guilty.

Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 34, both of south London, are on remand at Belmarsh prison and appeared at the Old Bailey via a videolink.

They were remanded in custody and the trial will start on 14 November.

Mr Lawrence, an 18-year-old black A-level student, was stabbed to death at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, on 22 April 1993.

Mr Lawrence's mother Doreen, 58, was in court to see the proceedings.

The judge, Mr Justice Treacy, also appeared via a videolink, from Birmingham Crown Court.

Another pre-trial hearing will take place on 29 September.

Mr Dobson stood trial over the murder following a private prosecution in 1996 and was cleared. In May, the Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal because it said substantial new evidence had emerged.

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'Fantasy' of river murder accused

1 July 2011 Last updated at 16:09 GMT John Pope is accused of murdering Karen Skipper in 1996 The version of events presented by a man accused of murdering Karen Skipper in Cardiff is a "complete fantasy", a jury has heard.

John Pope, 62, from Cardiff, was convicted of killing Ms Skipper, 34, in 2009 but his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Her partially clothed body was found in the River Ely in Fairwater in 1996 with her hands tied behind her back.

The defendant denies murder. The trial continues at Newport Crown Court.

Ms Skipper's ex-husband, Phillip, stood trial for her murder in 1997, but was cleared. He has since died.

On Friday the jury was told how Mr Pope claimed he met Ms Skipper at a local shop before she was killed.

He said one of her dogs bit him and caused him to bleed and that is how traces of his blood were found on intimate parts of her clothing after her death.

'Desperate invention'

Cross-examining, prosecution barrister Ian Murphy QC, described that as a "fantasy" and a "complete invention" and one Mr Pope had had many years to come up with.

He said it was a "desperate invention" to try to explain how his blood was on her jeans and underwear.

Karen Skipper's body was found tied up and dumped in the River Ely in Fairwater, Cardiff

Mr Pope told the jury it was 100% what had happened.

The defendant was also questioned about a jacket and rucksack he said he habitually wore at the time of the murder.

A man in a wax jacket was seen close to the murder scene, according to witnesses.

The jury was shown a wax jacket taken from Mr Pope's home when he was arrested.

He said it was the only wax jacket he has ever owned.

The prosecution called it "immaculate" suggesting that Mr Pope had disposed of the jacket and rucksack he wore on a daily basis "because you were concerned it would incriminate you in the killing of Karen Skipper."

Mr Pope claims he was at home at the time of the murder.

Under cross examination, he was directly accused of being Ms Skipper's murderer.

The prosecution said he had seen a chance for sexual gratification, followed her until she was in a dark and lonely place and attacked her, bundling her into the River Ely after removing her lower clothing and tying her hands tightly behind her back.

Responding to the allegation, Mr Pope said: "That's rubbish and you know it".

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Breakfast murder bet was 'joke'

28 June 2011 Last updated at 14:06 GMT Rebecca Aylward's body was found face down in woodland near Bridgend A teenager has told a murder trial he was only joking over a bet of a cooked breakfast with a friend, who is accused of killing his own ex-girlfriend.

It is claimed the boy, 16, arranged to buy the defendant a breakfast if he carried out his threat to murder Rebecca Aylward, 15. She was found dead in woods near Bridgend.

But the boy said he thought the accused, also 16, was "messing about".

The accused denies murder at Swansea Crown Court and blames the witness.

Rebecca was found dead in woods in Aberkenfig in October 2010.

Her former boyfriend is accused of her murder.

Swansea Crown Court heard her former boyfriend, then also 15, allegedly told his friend: "Don't say anything but you might just owe me a breakfast."

His friend told the jury their breakfast bet was just a joke between them and he was "playing along".

He said he did it not because he was horrible, but because he just did not believe his friend would kill Rebecca.

'Done and dusted'

The alleged bet was forgotten about until he received a text from the defendant days before Rebecca's death.

The text read: "Don't say anything but you might owe me a breakfast."

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I thought he was quite a sick person because of the way he was talking about killing Becca”

End Quote Friend of the defendant The boy said he sent a jokey text back, because he thought it was all messing about.

"I honestly didn't think he was going to do it - I was just playing along," he said.

The court heard the accused sent another text to his friend saying: "Hopefully by Friday it will be done and dusted."

The friend, who gave evidence via a video link said he called him "sadistic... I thought he was quite sick".

"I thought he was quite a sick person because of the way he was talking about killing Becca," he added.

The court heard Rebecca, of Maesteg, had gone to meet her ex-boyfriend hoping she was going to get back with him.

Her mother reported her missing the next day and her body was found in forestry near the village of Aberkenfig.

A post mortem examination found she had died from blunt injuries to the head, which had broken the base of her skull in four places.

The trial continues.

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Teenage murder accused 'hated ex'

23 June 2011 Last updated at 12:30 GMT Rebecca Aylward's body was found in woodland near Bridgend A 16-year-old schoolboy accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend "hated" her and told a friend how he would kill her and "cover it up", a court has heard.

Rebecca Aylward, 15, of Maesteg, near Bridgend, was battered to death and her body found in woodland last October.

Swansea Crown Court heard how the defendant had told a friend it would be "easy" to kill her and "wouldn't life be a lot easier if she wasn't here?"

The teenager denies murder and the trial continues.

Student Rebecca, 15 - known as Becca to her friends - was beaten on the head with a rock.

Her body was found the following day face-down on a wet forest floor.

Giving evidence via video link, a 16-year-old friend who had known Rebecca since primary school, told of the defendant's feelings for his ex.

He told the jury how the accused teenager joked: "Wouldn't life be a lot easier if she wasn't here?

"I'm just going to kill her. It won't be hard - it will be real easy."

The friend said: "It was no secret that he hated Rebecca for quite a long time after their relationship finished.

'Joked'

"I heard him say on several occasions that he could kill her.

"He'd explain how he would do it and how he would cover it up so he wouldn't get caught.

"But I didn't think he was being serious at the time."

The court heard the last time the defendant "joked" of killing Rebecca was in September 2010 - just weeks before she was murdered.

The jury was told the friend had also talked about the relationship with the accused, and heard his reasons for breaking up with Rebecca.

'Buy you breakfast'

"He'd told me Rebecca had tried to get pregnant because she was scared of losing him," he added.

Rebecca's ex-boyfriend claims another friend killed her.

Rebecca was found dead the day after being reported missing by her mother.

The court has heard how Rebecca told her family she was going to meet the accused and that he was due to return to her home that night.

The trial also earlier heard the defendant used to meet every Saturday at a local cafe in the area with teenage friends where they had breakfast together.

At one such meeting he openly discussed killing the girl, his friends assuming he was joking.

They later told police he had a reputation for saying he was going to do things he never subsequently did.

But in a later text to one friend, the jury was told he asked: "What would you do if I actually did kill her?"

The friend replied: "Oh, I would buy you breakfast."

The trial on Wednesday heard the subject of the murder became a regular text topic between the friends.

Two days before the killing the defendant contacted his friend to confirm he would attend their breakfast date.

He added: "Don't say anything but you may just owe me a breakfast."

The friend replied: "Best text I have ever had mate. Seriously, if it is true I am happy to pay for a breakfast."

The defendant adds: "I hope by then it will be done and dusted."

The trial is expected to last five weeks.

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Fraser faces murder case retrial

17 June 2011 Last updated at 14:16 GMT Judges told Nat Fraser will face a retrial for murder before he was remanded Elgin businessman Nat Fraser has had his conviction for the murder of his estranged wife Arlene overturned but will face a retrial.

Mr Fraser was jailed in 2003 after his wife went missing in Moray five years earlier. Her body was never found.

In May, the UK Supreme Court remitted the case to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh to decide on a retrial and to quash the conviction.

Judges at the Appeal Court in Edinburgh granted the application for a retrial.

The 52-year-old was remanded in custody following the decision.

The case began on 29 April 1998 when wife Arlene, 33, waved her two young children, Jamie and Natalie, off to primary school and then disappeared.

Mr Fraser appealed for her to get in touch but was later tried and jailed for a minimum of 25 years.

Arlene Fraser went missing from her Moray home in 1998

He lost an appeal against his conviction in 2008 but pursued his case to the UK Supreme Court in London after he exhausted all avenues in Scotland.

The Supreme Court found that Mr Fraser's human rights may have been breached because prosecutors failed to disclose some evidence in the case against him.

They returned the case to the Appeal Court in Edinburgh.

After consideration, Scotland's top judge, the Lord Justice General Lord Hamilton, sitting with Lords Reed and Carloway, formally overturned Mr Fraser's conviction.

The three judges granted authority for a fresh prosecution after being urged to do so by advocate depute Alex Prentice QC.

No date has been set for Mr Fraser to return to court.

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Murder arrests over woman's death

17 June 2011 Last updated at 22:45 GMT Police have begun a murder inquiry after an elderly woman robbed in the street in West Yorkshire died of her injuries.

The 89-year-old was mugged in Quarry Road, Gomersal, shortly before 1400 BST on Friday.

Police said she was reportedly attacked by a man who made off with her bag and left her with serious head injuries.

She died in Bradford Royal Infirmary. A 26-year-old man and a woman, 25, are being held on suspicion of murder.

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Man, 73, charged with wife murder

12 June 2011 Last updated at 10:05 GMT Shirley Rumbold had Alzheimer's disease for several years, said her family A 73-year-old man has been charged with murdering his wife, whose body was found at their home in Denbighshire.

Shirley Rumbold, 74, was found at their bungalow in Prestatyn on Thursday. She is believed to have been strangled.

Police said Keith Rumbold had been charged with murder and would appear before Prestatyn magistrates on Monday.

The family said: "Shirley had suffered from Alzheimer's for several years and the family would appreciate privacy at this sad and difficult time."

The bungalow was cordoned off after officers were called to the property at about 1350 BST on Thursday.

An inquest has been opened by acting coroner John Gittins and a post-mortem examination was carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers.

The examination on Mrs Rumbold is understood to have revealed the provisional cause of death as asphyxiation caused by strangulation.

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Murder inquiry following shooting

19 May 2011 Last updated at 16:43 GMT A murder investigation has started after a man was shot dead in Essex.

The shooting took place in Park Road, St Osyth, just before 0500 BST on Thursday.

Police said the 42-year-old was taken to Colchester General Hospital where he died of his injuries.

A man was later arrested in Scotland in connection with the shooting. Police are searching a numb er of addresses in connction with the shooting, including one in Brightlingsea.

A police spokesman said: "A murder inquiry has been launched and is being led by the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate."

The unit targets serious and organised crime in the two counties.

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Webster guilty of wife's murder

19 May 2011 Last updated at 15:47 GMT Killer husband Malcolm Webster pretended he had leukaemia A man has been found guilty of murdering his first wife in a car fire and attempting to kill his second in another crash to get life assurance.

Former nurse Malcolm Webster, 52, had denied murdering Claire Morris in an Aberdeenshire crash in 1994.

Webster, of Surrey, also denied attempting to kill Felicity Drumm in New Zealand in 1999.

Scotland's longest-lasting single accused criminal trial had begun on 1 February at the High Court in Glasgow.

The brother of Claire Morris, Peter Morris, branded Webster a "monster".

Mr Morris said: "Hopefully now Claire can rest in peace. I feel that she hasn't been able to do that until now."

He described Webster as a "monster" and said: "If the police hadn't caught him the killing would have gone on."

The jury of nine women and six men took less than four hours to find Webster guilty of commiting all the charges as part of frauds to obtain hundreds of thousands of pounds in life assurance.

Sentencing was deferred until 5 July.

The fatal crash in 1994 was originally treated as an accident.

Webster claimed he had swerved to avoid a motorcyclist.

However, the crash was later reinvestigated after concerns were raised in the wake of the second crash on the other side of the world.

New tests showed Claire Morris had traces of drugs in her system.

His second wife also suspected that he had later been spiking her food in New Zealand.

Peter Morris, the brother of Claire Morris, has paid tribute to his sister

Their car crashed with Webster at the wheel, but she survived. She would discover he had cheated her of her life savings.

Her sister later told a police officer of her concerns in a chance meeting which proved to be pivotal in the case.

Webster, of Guildford, was also found guilty of intending to bigamously marry Simone Banarjee, from Oban, Argyll, to gain access to her estate.

He pretended to have leukaemia, and during the deception he shaved his head and eyebrows.

She was warned about Webster's past as police closed in on him.

Advocate depute Derek Ogg QC had said in his closing speech Webster was "a most cruel, practised deceiver" who, if convicted, would become one of the most notorious murderers of modern times.

However, defence counsel Edgar Prais QC said that although Webster was a "liar", a "thief", a "philanderer" and a "rat bag", he was not a killer.

Claire Morris had been married for eight months when she died

Fifty days of prosecution evidence was followed by a short defence case, after which trial judge Lord Bannatyne told the jurors there was enough evidence in law for them to convict Webster.

Grampian Police Det Ch Insp Phil Chapman, the senior investigating officer, told BBC Scotland: "Malcolm's motivation was money and his insatiable appetite for wealth."

He said Webster was a "charming individual", but under the veneer there was a "chilling disposition".

Det Ch Insp Chapman said: "I would like to thank and pay tribute to the dignity and courage shown by Betty and Peter Morris (Claire's mother and brother) and her extended family during the course of our enquiry.

Continue reading the main story

He peddled his lies across different continents believing his chilling and callous crimes would go undetected”

End Quote Det Ch Insp Phil Chapman Grampian Police "In February 2008, I first met Claire's family and had to tell them that we believed Claire's death, 14 years earlier, was not a tragic accident, but a premeditated and planned murder, committed by her husband, the man to whom she had pledged her life.

"This was clearly a devastating revelation, which generated many questions and a range of traumatic emotions for them.

"I would also like to thank Felicity Drumm and her family, whose collective determination and resolve to bring Malcolm Webster to justice can only be commended.

"Indeed it was the family's pursuit of Malcolm Webster which led us to reconsider the circumstances surrounding Claire's death."

'Web of lies'

He added: "He peddled his lies across different continents believing his chilling and callous crimes would go undetected.

"But he severely underestimated the determination and will of the many people whom he had deceived.

"It was only after a painstaking investigation into Malcolm Webster's life, taking us literally to the other side of the world, and using truly innovative technology and investigative techniques, that the true magnitude of his crimes became clear."

Webster's first wife died when their car crashed and caught fire

Lindsey Miller, head of the serious and organised crime division (SOCD) at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: "This was a hugely complex case, involving hundreds of witnesses, productions, and financial documentary evidence stretching over a 14-year period.

"A vast amount of painstaking work went into this investigation and prosecution.

"Webster was a calculating criminal who wove a web of lies and deceit around people who entered his life in good faith.

"I would like to commend the persistence and tenacity of all those who worked tirelessly to bring Webster to justice for these appalling crimes."

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Man charged with woman's murder

27 May 2011 Last updated at 14:51 GMT Alami Gotip, suffered multiple stab wounds A teenager has appeared in court charged with the murder of a mother-of-two found dead at a West Lothian house.

James Ellis is accused of killing Alami Gotip, 22, at a property in the Dedridge area of Livingston, West Lothian.

The 18-year-old, from Livingston, made no plea or declaration when he appeared at Livingston Sheriff Court.

He was remanded in custody and is expected to appear in court again next week.

Ms Gotip was found dead with multiple stab wounds by police responding to a 999 call.

Her body was discovered just before 2200 BST on Wednesday in the living room of the house in Nigel Rise.

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Stately home murder suspect hunt

27 May 2011 Last updated at 18:18 GMT Martin Collett had been in a relationship Angela Hoyt Police have searched the grounds of a stately home in Hertfordshire for a man suspected of murdering his former partner.

The body of 34-year-old Red Cross worker Angela Hoyt was found at her home in Glebeland, Hatfield on Tuesday.

About 30 officers searched the grounds of Hatfield House after reported sightings of Martin Collett, 35.

Police believe he has connections in a number of places including Southampton, Bristol and Stratford-upon-Avon.

They had earlier said Mr Collett could be anywhere in the UK.

Det Ch Insp Mark Ross of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit thanked members of the public who had given the force information.

He added: "Understandably this is an extremely difficult time for Angela's family and it is vitally important we trace Martin Collett as soon as possible."

Ms Hoyt's family in Canada alerted police following concerns about her which led officers to break into her home.

She is thought to have died between 22 and 24 May.

Ms Hoyt was born in Windsor, Ontario, and moved to the UK in 1999.

Angela Hoyt had been working for the Red Cross in Pakistan

She is survived by her parents, Barb and Dwight Hoyt, her identical twin sister Ami Watanabe and Ami's husband Garry, and niece and nephew Tori and Kai.

In a statement released through Hertfordshire Police, Ms Hoyt's family said: "Angela was a very ambitious and driven girl.

"She had a passion for human rights and wanted to use her work to help improve the lives of those less fortunate. She had strong opinions and convictions."

'Thoughtful treasures'

Ms Hoyt had recently returned from a three-month role in Pakistan as part of her work with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

She had been working as a public affairs and communications adviser for the organisation since February 2008.

Her family added: "Her niece and nephew were a great source of pride and she was an awesome aunt to them.

"She always picked up very thoughtful treasures for them on her travels. She was very close to her parents and twin sister.

"Angela had an infectious smile; it lit up the room."

Officers have not released any further details about how Ms Hoyt died.

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Milly 'murder scene' redecorated

24 May 2011 Last updated at 15:16 GMT The remains of Milly Dowler were found six months after she disappeared A flat where Milly Dowler is alleged to have been killed had been redecorated by the time police investigated her murder, the Old Bailey has heard.

Levi Bellfield, who denies murder, and his partner moved out of the flat in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, within days of Milly disappearing in March 2002.

The court heard they had not been due to move out of Collingwood Place for two months under a tenancy agreement.

Bellfield, 43, is accused of murdering Milly in his flat and dumping her body.

The remains of the 13-year-old were found six months after she disappeared, in woods in Yateley Heath, Hampshire.

'Filthy carpets'

Letting agent Carmen Lippold told the court Emma Mills and her two children by Bellfield were living in the ground-floor, two-bedroom flat after a separation.

She said neighbours later complained about an extra car blocking their garages and parking spaces, and she assumed Bellfield was living with them because someone had also told her a dog was being kept in the flat.

After being unable to contact Miss Mills, the flat was entered on 28 May 2002.

Miss Lippold told the jury: "It was very dirty. The carpets were filthy. She had also left toys and quite a lot of furniture.

"It was obvious no-one had been living there for some time."

Landlord Stephen Cooper said he had spent more than ?900 to have the mouldy walls and ceilings repainted and the carpets steam cleaned.

Bellfield denies abducting and murdering Milly

The Old Bailey was told that by the time police investigated the apartment there had been two further tenants.

Bellfield denies abducting and murdering Milly and attempting to kidnap Rachel Cowles, aged 11, in March 2002.

The trial has heard how the teenager disappeared "in the blink of an eye" after leaving Walton-on-Thames station and beginning her walk home along Station Avenue.

The prosecution alleges Bellfield was living yards away.

The former wheelclamper and bouncer was convicted in 2008 of murdering Marsha McDonnell, 19, Amelie Delagrange, 22, and attempting to murder Kate Sheedy, 18.

The trial was adjourned to Wednesday.

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