Eight men have been jailed for a total of 235 years following the brutal murder of Wigan dad Christopher Hughes.
Mr Hughes' mutilated body was discovered on a country road on the outskirts of Skelmersdale by a dogwalker after he was bundled into the back of an Audi by and viciously attacked. The 37-year-old suffered nearly 100 separate injuries, having been hunted down by a vigilante gang who wrongly believed the dad had raped a teenager.
Seven men convicted of abducting and murdering the former boxer and an eighth man, Curtis Balbas, who admitted those offences, were sentenced today (February 9) at Liverpool Crown Court. They were locked up for a combined total of 235 years after being handed life imprisonments, the Liverpool Echo reports.
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Mr Hughes had been snatched off Almond Street, Wigan, in broad daylight 'in a slick move' and bundled into the boot of a blue Audi A4 on February 18 last year following a determined 24-hour manhunt for him by the gang, said John Elvidge, KC, prosecuting. Balbas, 30, of Matheson Drive, Worsley Hall, Wigan, was accompanied by Erland Spahiu, an Albanian, who worked with him enforcing vehicle re-possessions with the threats of violence.
They drove their helpless victim, who was desperately asking from the boot, ‘What have I done wrong?’ to an isolated country road in Skelmersdale, Lancs. A man who witnessed the kidnapping had been warned by Spahiu, “keep your f...ing mouth shut, or you’re next”.
Vicious, sadistic attack
Mr Hughes was taken from the boot on arrival at White Moss Road South, near the M58, and horrifically subjected to “a tortuous attack” with two knives including a machete. In the vicious and sadistic assault, the two men hacked him to death, inflicting at least 90 sharp wounds to his head, body and limbs including injuries to his scrotum and anus, having lowered his clothing.
They then left his mutilated body at the scene on a grassy embankment, abandoned to the winter elements, where he was found by a dog walker four days later. On the evening after the killing, 34-year-old Spahiu, who lives in the same road as the murder scene, accompanied by his cousin Erion Voja, who was visiting from London, Dean O’Neill Davey and Andruis Uzkuraitis, formed a burial party to hide the body.
The men, equipped with a spade, wellies, gloves, bottles of bleach and bin bags purchased for them from Asda by sisters of Balbas, were digging a grave on nearby wasteland when they were disturbed by police who were investigating a road traffic accident nearby and they abandoned the burial.
Balbas, of Matheson Drive in Wigan, pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping. He was today jailed for life with a minimum term of 34 years. Seven other conspirators were found guilty of these counts and were also handed life imprisonments.
His brothers-in-law 52-year-old Alan Jaf, 48-year-old Khalil Awla, 40-year-old Mohammed - who hail from the Kurdish region of Iraq - must serve at least 26, 26 and 27 years respectively. Jaf and Awla - of Ridyard Street and Greenwood Avenue in Wigan respectively - were the joint owners of M6 Motor Garage in the Greater Manchester town, where O’Neill-Davey also worked.
The 30-year-old, of Conrad Close in Wigan, will spend a minimum of 25 years behind bars. Twenty-one-year-old Voja and Spahiu - who are cousins from Albania, the former having been visiting from his home on Peall Road in Croydon, South London - were given terms of 23 and 35 years respectively.
Smith, aged 34 and of Greenwood Avenue in Wigan, was told he will serve at least 33 years. Uzkuraitis, of Holly Road in Wigan, was acquitted of murder and kidnapping but convicted of assisting an offender.
The 27-year-old was imprisoned for six years. Mohammed, of Plane Avenue in Wigan, had also been the owner of a motoring business called Star Autos while Balbas and Spahiu had a shared business interest in a convenience store, Mini Express on Beech Hill Avenue.
The pair were also said to have worked together repossessing vehicles. Smith shook his head as he was sentenced, took a sip of water then threw his plastic cup to the floor. Meanwhile Voja ranted at the judge, saying: "I know myself.
"I'm no murderer. I'll get my justice one day you t***." He continued his outburst after being led into the cells, where he reportedly began punching walls. Voja added: "I don't give a f*** any more."
'The killing in a quiet spot was brutal', judge says
Sentencing, Judge Mark Wall said: "The sense of outrage this allegation instilled in you all became a focused search for the culprit, in order to punish him. You spent the evening hunting down the man you thought responsible.
"It was persistent and organised. I have no doubt, had you found Mr Hughes that evening, he would have been attacked earlier than he was.
"I have no reason to doubt she was sexually assaulted. I have seen no evidence that Mr Hughes was responsible for any assault on her.
"I am prepared to accept that you all believed that allegation was true. But that belief does not begin to justify the attack on him."
Turning to Mr Hughes' kidnapping the following day, the high court judge said: "It was a slick manouvre, taking only a few seconds to achieve. It was done in broad daylight in sight of members of the public.
"You then took Mr Hughes to a quiet spot, where he was killed. The killing was brutal and, in part, sadistic.
"Over 90 separate stab or slash wounds were found on his body. They were inflicted with at least two weapons - a sharp knife and a machete, or something akin to it
"The attack resulted in him receiving deep wounds and him bleeding for death. It would have been, for Mr Hughes, both humiliating and painful.
"The impact of the loss of Mr Hughes' life and the brutality of your attack has been made clear to me. Christopher's death is still keenly felt and obviously will be indefinitely into the future.
"He has left behind a young daughter who will grow up without knowing her father. Your acts were designed to circumvent justice and ensure your suspicions prevailed over fact.
"This is murder the seriousness of which is particularly high. It was a murder designed to obstruct or interfere with the course of justice."
Rebecca Macaulay-Addison of CPS North West’s Complex Casework Unit said: "These men were responsible for the death of Christopher, in violent and terrifying circumstances. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) worked hard with the Major Incident Team at GMP to build a strong case, pulling together all the evidence including eyewitness testimony, CCTV footage, forensic evidence, mobile phone messages and telephone location data, into a compelling case to place before the jury.
"My thoughts are very much with Christopher’s family who I know feel his loss deeply."
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