Connor Chapman has pleaded not guilty to the murder of beautician Elle Edwards in a Merseyside pub on Christmas Eve.
Ms Edwards, 26, was celebrating with friends when a gunman opened fire at the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, shortly before midnight.
She was not believed to have been the intended target of the attack, which left four men injured.
In an interview with Sky News earlier this year, her father Tim Edwards said: “She was beautiful looking and she was a great hugger. She was just a fantastic human being with a heart of gold.”
The order of service at her funeral asked for donations to the Elle Edwards Foundation in her memory, and Mr Edwards said he hoped the foundation would combat gun violence in the region.
A 52-year-old man has admitted killing his wife and their two young children.
Saju Chelavalel pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court to the murders of NHS nurse Anju Ashok, 35, six-year-old Jeeva Saju and Janvi Saju, who was aged four.
All three died after being found with serious injuries at a flat in Petherton Court, Kettering, Northamptonshire, on 15 December last year.
Assisted by an interpreter in the dock, Chelavalel answered “guilty” to two of the counts he faced.
In relation to the charge of murdering Jeeva, he replied: “I don’t know what happened to the children, but I plead guilty.”
Judge David Herbert KC adjourned the case until 3 July when he is due to be sentenced at the same court.
He told Chelavalel: “There can only be one sentence in law, namely a life sentence, but the judge dealing with your case on that day will have to set the appropriate minimum term.”
After the deaths, post-mortem examinations at Leicester Royal Infirmary concluded all three victims had died of asphyxiation.
But at the opening of the inquests into their deaths, a coroner said the medical cause of death for the children had been listed as strangulation, while Ms Ashok had died of asphyxia.
Image: Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Ms Ashok was a staff nurse at Kettering General Hospital.
Its chief executive Deborah Needham described her as “a committed and compassionate staff nurse, who was loved and respected by her dear friends and colleagues”.
‘Absolutely tragic case’
Detective Inspector Simon Barnes, senior investigating officer at Northamptonshire Police, said: “This was an absolutely tragic case and there are no words to articulate the devastation Saju Chelavalel caused when he chose to end the lives of Anju, Jeeva and Janvi.
“I am pleased that he has pleaded guilty and spared Anju’s family and friends the pain of a trial. He will have to live with what he has done forever and I hope one day, he truly comprehends the pain his actions have caused.
“Anju Asok will be remembered as so much more than this man’s victim. She was a dedicated nurse, loving mother, and loyal friend.”
A homophobic man has been found guilty of murdering a man in a cemetery after hitting him 12 times in the face and head with a claw hammer.
Erik Feld, who had an obsession with extreme violence, hid behind a monument in east London in the early hours of 16 August 2021 before causing “catastrophic” injuries to Ranjith Kankanamalage, who was unarmed.
The 50-year-old victim was found by a member of the public on a path in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park later that day.
During his trial, the defendant made a homophobic rant about the victim who has a family in Sri Lanka and was in a relationship in the UK.
Feld had “dark places in his soul” that were “not in the darkest recesses but very near the surface”, prosecutor Paul Cavin KC told jurors.
“The extraordinary homophobic outburst is obviously something you will not forget,” he said.
Jurors were told Mr Kankanamalage was a regular visitor to the “spooky” cemetery, which was known as a “cruising” hotspot.
Feld’s legal team claimed he hit out in self-defence after the victim allegedly made a pass at him.
His lawyer, Isabella Forshall KC, told the Old Bailey: “Mr Feld has got himself in a creepy place, he’s got himself lost. It’s dead of night.”
She said the defendant did not strike Mr Kankanamalage because he was a “homophobe” but because he “got the wrong end of the stick”.
Feld said when he saw the victim, he became worried he was going to be attacked and hit him in the back of the head with the hammer.
He claimed he swung out with the object several more times after he was pinned down on the ground.
However, prosecutor Mr Cavin dismissed Feld’s version of events as “inherently unlikely”, pointing out just one strike with the hammer would have incapacitated the victim.
A 19-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a student who was fatally stabbed in Manchester.
Luke O’Connor, 19, died in hospital after he was attacked in Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, at about 2am on Wednesday.
A 19-year-old man was detained in the area on Friday evening and is being questioned.
Superintendent Helen Critchley, of City of Manchester South district, said: “The arrest of a 19-year-old suspect on Friday night is an important step in our investigation which is moving at pace.
“Since the tragic killing of Luke our investigation team has made significant progress as we do all we can to get justice for Luke’s family who we are continuing to support at this devastating time.
“There are still a number of inquiries being conducted to establish what happened in the early hours of Wednesday, but what is clear is that this was a senseless and needless loss of a promising young life that has shocked our student community and we are doing all we can to support them too.”
Mr O’Connor was a second year business management student at Manchester Metropolitan University and his family described him as “truly one of a kind, whose presence would light up any room”.
Read more: Luke O’Connor was a “gentle giant with big hopes and dreams”, family say
In a statement on Thursday, they said: “Our hearts yearn for the loss of Luke; we are truly devastated by this tragedy.
“Luke was loved by so many people, and he knew how much he was loved in return.
“He loved the freedom of student living and studying and was loving life in Manchester.
“Luke was the youngest of three boys in our family and was a gentle giant with big hopes and dreams for the future.
“His biggest dream was to travel the world, but now Luke will never be able to fulfil that dream.”
A man has been found guilty of murdering a street gangster who was hacked to death in swift retribution for crashing a party on rival turf and attacking a man celebrating his birthday with a machete.
Salem Koudou, 19, was stabbed 32 times after he was chased by up to 15 people intent on revenge in Brixton, south London, jurors heard.
Darius Kwakye, 29, was found guilty of his murder at the Old Bailey on Wednesday after a jury deliberated for nearly 19 hours.
During the trial, prosecutor Oliver Glasgow KC told jurors there could be no excuse for the “murderous attack”.
Kwakye’s co-defendants Donte McCalla, 21, and Tristan Bullock, 21, were cleared of wrongdoing.
On 20 August 2020, Mr Koudou and two others armed themselves with at least one knife and possibly a gun and set off in a stolen VW Golf to attack rivals, it was claimed.
Jurors were told Mr Koudou was a member of Stockwell-based gang All ‘Bout Money (ABM) which was in violent dispute with gangs known as 17 or Wandsworth Road, One Five O (150) or Get Back Gang (GBG), and Four Ten (410).
Mr Koudou and his companions first went to Wandsworth where a potential target was chased but managed to escape, the court heard.
They went on to Brixton where they allegedly came across an “ideal target”, a birthday party on Marcella Road for Tyreicke Williams, 28, who was affiliated with GBG.
Image: Darius Kwakye was found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey
Response was ‘immediate and violent’
Just before 6pm the VW Golf was driven into Kwakye’s parked Mercedes and turned over onto its roof, jurors heard.
Two of the unidentified occupants pulled themselves from the wreckage and ran off.
Mr Koudou got out with an “enormous knife” and began to chase guests, including Mr Williams and Kwakye, it was alleged. The defenceless Mr Williams fell to the ground and was set upon by Mr Koudou but managed to get away despite being hurt.
The prosecutor said the response was “immediate and violent”, “swift and aggressive” as party guests armed themselves and gave chase.
He told jurors: “The roles were now reversed” and Mr Koudou “had 15 or more people to escape from.”
Some wounds ‘as deep as 14cm’
He ran and used his knife to ward off his pursuers. Realising he was “hopelessly outnumbered”, Mr Koudou fled but fell down and was set upon by members of the group, the prosecutor said.
Mr Glasgow told jurors Mr Koudou was stabbed “more than 30 times” sustaining “catastrophic injuries”.
“His lungs, liver and stomach were damaged by the knives that were used to stab him, and the blades were wielded with such ferocity that some of the wounds were as deep as 14cm.
“Others damaged the bones of his rib cage, and one went through his skull.”
Read more: Two men and a woman arrested over killing of rapper Takayo Nembhard Teenager dead for nearly an hour after stabbing beams in court as attackers convicted
He said: “There was no hope of survival and yet seconds was all it took for this attack to take place, for his pursuers to have their revenge, and for the killers to disappear calmly as if nothing had happened.”
The prosecutor added: “Given the build-up to this shocking violence, there can be no doubt that Salem Koudou’s pursuers wanted to avenge the attack upon Tyreicke Williams.”
The defendants had denied they had anything to do with the murder. Following his conviction, Kwakye was remanded into custody to be sentenced at a later date.
A 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
Olivia was killed in Dovecot, Liverpool on 22 August after a gunman fired shots into her home at about 10pm as he chased convicted burglar Joseph Nee.
She was hit in the chest as she stood behind her mother who was injured after being struck in the wrist by the same bullet.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “The investigation into Olivia’s murder is ongoing and we continue to appeal for people with information to come forward to assist us in bringing those responsible to justice.
“Anyone with information is asked to DM @MerPolCC or contact @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111.
“If you have any CCTV/dashcam/smart doorbell footage that could help our inquiries they can be downloaded on the dedicated public portal for Olivia’s murder, which will go straight through to the investigation team.”
Nine other men have been arrested so far in the investigation, but they have all been released on bail and no one has been charged.
More on Olivia Pratt-korbel
Police said on Wednesday that officers had spent 15,000 hours on the case, that there were 2,000 exhibits, and that thousands of hours of CCTV had been looked at.
The man who was chased and shot by the killer remains in hospital.
Image: A Glock-type self-loading 9mm pistol like this has been used in two previous incidents on Merseyside in the last two and a half years
Largest reward in Crimestoppers history
Last week it was announced a £200,000 reward was being offered for information leading to the conviction of those responsible.
It is the biggest reward in Crimestoppers’ history.
The charity’s founder and chairman, Lord Ashcroft, had previously put up £50,000 but the reward was increased after a private donor offered £100,000 and the businessman matched it.
“This case has been incredibly shocking, not just for those who are directly affected, but also for Liverpool and the nation as a whole,” Lord Ashcroft said.
Detectives also searched a golf course in the weeks after her death, promising to leave “no stone unturned”.
Image: Police carrying out searches at West Derby Golf Club
A ‘splash of pink’ for Olivia
A service was held for Olivia on 15 September, with mourners asked to wear a “splash of pink” to remember the “chatty and bubbly” little girl.
“Olivia loved to sing and dance. She’d always be singing along to songs she enjoyed, especially when we would be driving in the car and she would always be in charge of the CD player,” her mother said, giving her eulogy.
“Olivia knew exactly how to wrap people around her little finger to get what she wanted, especially her brother Ryan and sister Chloe.
“She would often give them a cheeky smile and they would give in instantly.”
“She would have made a great lawyer as she had an answer for everything.”
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Mourners wear pink at Olivia’s funeral
Ms Korbel added: “Liv touched so many people’s hearts and was loved and adored by everyone.
“She will never be forgotten. I will never say goodbye but what I will say is goodnight, love you, see you in the morning.”
A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a fellow schoolboy in north London.
The unnamed 15-year-old suspect is being held by Metropolitan Police after the death of Deshaun James Tuitt, also 15, who was stabbed in Highbury Fields, Islington, just before 9pm on 4 August.
He died later in hospital.
A post-mortem ruled Deshaun’s cause of death was a stab wound, shock, and haemorrhage.
A 34-year-old woman has also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, Scotland Yard said.
Police have renewed their appeals for information or footage.
Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command said: “Despite these arrests, we are still very keen to hear from anyone who has information or footage relating to this incident.
“We are working hard to piece together a timeline of events that led to Deshaun’s murder and I urge anyone who saw something, or captured footage, to get in touch without delay.
“Deshaun’s devastated loved ones are asking why this happened – if you have information please get in touch and help us to give them the answers they so desperately need.”
A man has been charged with murdering nine-year-old Lillia Valutyte in Lincolnshire.
Deividas Skebas, 22, was arrested by police two days after Lillia was found dead after being stabbed in Boston at about 6.20pm on Thursday.
Lincolnshire Police say the Lithuanian national, of Thorold Street, Boston, is due to appear at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court, on Monday.
Officers arrested Skebas in the Central Park area of Boston at around 2.45pm on Saturday following “a combination of intelligence and information supplied by members of the public”.
Chief Superintendent Martyn Parker said: “This is a heartbreaking case that has affected many people in Boston, and further afield.
“Our thoughts continue to be with Lilia’s family at this exceptionally difficult time.
“The response to such a devastating incident has involved committing significant resources to the investigation, and engaging with people in Boston who are understandably shocked by Lilia’s death.”
Lillia had reportedly been playing with her younger sister on the street just yards away from an office where their mother was working.
The girls had a hula-hoop, and a toy pram was left at the scene, according to locals.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has described Lillia’s death as “appalling”.
