A mum was stabbed to death by a man defending his home from an armed raid, a court heard.
Debbie Twist, 47, burst into the house on March 17, 2019, in an attempt to collect a £120 cannabis debt owed by the householder's son, which he had no idea about. Twist was joined in the robbery attempt by her son, Jordan Winstanley, and another man.
Their associate, Robbie Arnold, was charged with being the third suspect in that raid but was found not guilty of aggravated burglary by a jury at Bolton Crown Court - although he was convicted of possessing an imitation firearm that evening.
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The armed raiders were all clad in masks, and wielding a hammer and machete, when they smashed through a back window and burst inside the house in Manchester Road, Leigh. The MEN reported that the victim, whose pregnant partner was also at home at the time, was threatened with a 'firearm', according to Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
Bolton Crown Court heard the terrified man picked up a knife and slashed in the direction of the intruders to fend off their blows, resulting in Debbie Twist being stabbed to the left side of her chest. She was taken to hospital but later died from her wounds, prosecutor John Richards told the court.
Mr Richards said the homeowner, who also received numerous injuries to his nose and hands during the attack, has been left traumatised by the incident and still has flashbacks more than three years on. There were initial murder enquiries over Twist's death, but GMP and the Crown Prosecution Service decided no further action needed to be taken due to the "householder defence".
The court heard Winstanley, now 28, and his mum ran the small drugs ring with her daughter, Bethany Twist, 22; Adam Guy, 26, and Arnold, 23.
Mr Richards said Bethany Twist and Adam Guy, who were in a relationship, did not have any part in the aggravated burglary but were part of the same criminal operation. They had been dealing cannabis in the area, but their defence lawyers claimed only to friends rather than strangers.
Mr Richards said: "Between March 3 and 18 Guy and [Bethany] Twist were involved in the supply of cannabis. They admitted calling in a drug debt of the victim, who had no idea his son had accrued a debt.”
The court heard that the son of the homeowner had run up a debt of £170 for cannabis, supplied to him by the Twist family. The son had been attacked by Debbie Twist two days earlier, when she demanded repayment of the drugs debt but he agreed to pay back the money he owed on Monday, March 18.
But on Sunday March 17, Debbie Twist, Winstanley, Bethany Twist, Guy and Arnold, all met at a local pub for drinks. It was on their walk back home that Debbie Twist pointed out the victim’s address and identified him as the father of the man who owed her money. At this point, the debt had been reduced by £50, so stood at £120.
Debbie Twist asked her son and Arnold to knock on the door and ask for the return of the money. At 6pm that evening, the group returned and when they received no response from knocking, they made their way to the back of the property and burst in.
Following the attack, police searching the Manchester Road address recovered a plastic bag containing a claw hammer and a machete on a neighbour’s roof.
The court heard that a witness who was asked to drive for them, described Arnold holding a paintball gun and another male, wearing a balaclava, ordering him to drive to Manchester Road. A search of Arnold’s address recovered the paintball gun.
The Twist family's drug ring had been rumbled by police around a month before the attack, when officers raided Arnold’s address and found a quantity of drugs and paraphernalia related to dealing.
Mr Richards told the court: "In total, what was found was £4,360 worth of cocaine, £250 of skunk cannabis, and £30 of cannabis resin. Over 200 messages were found on the phones relating to the sale of drugs, one saying ‘need flake, bare power’.”
Ian Metcalfe, defending Arnold, told the court that his client had only got into his role of producing and selling drugs after getting into "eye-watering" debts himself. He added that at the time Arnold had no previous convictions and was a man of good character.
Mr Metcalfe said: "He was living in the shadow of Debbie Twist. She was a lady he had known for many years of his life and knew her as ‘aunt’. The defendant has taken active steps to move away from criminality."
Following a trial, Winstanley was found guilty of aggravated burglary and jailed for more than six years. Robbie Arnold, 23, was cleared of aggravated burglary by a jury but was found guilty of possessing an imitation firearm on the evening of March 17, 2019.
Mr Reid added that after the conviction following the trial, Winstanley's father was taken to hospital and also died shortly after.
Craig McGregor, defending Bethany Twist, said that like her brother, she had also lost a mother during the raid, and that she had recently given birth to her and Guy’s second baby.
He said: "She is a lady of previous good character and a young mother. Immediate custody would have harmful effects on others.
Representing Guy, Eleanor Gleeson said that he is also a man of previous good character and a dad of two. Ms Gleeson said: "He understands the severity of his actions.
“There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation here. He had a son and needed to get cash and get cash quickly. He regrets the actions he made at the time of this. He wants to continue to be in a position to provide for his young family.”
Judge Tom Gilbart, passing sentence, described the incident as "a very sad case". He sentenced Winstanley, of Butler Street, Wigan, to six years and six months in prison and Arnold, of Suffolk Grove, Wigan, who also pleaded guilty to the production of cocaine, the supply of cocaine and the supply of cannabis, to a total of five years in jail.
Before they were sent down, Bethany Twist wept and hugged her brother.
Bethany Twist, of Devon Street in Leigh, and Adam Guy, of Turner Street in Leigh, both pleaded guilty to the supply of Class B drug cannabis. Guy was given a six month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and must undertake 15 rehabilitation requirement activity days, a six month drug rehabilitation course and carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
Twist was given a six month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and must undertake 20 rehabilitation requirement activity days and 70 hours of unpaid work.
Following the court case, Detective Chief Inspector Wes Knights, of the GMP Major Incident Team, said: “We are extremely pleased with today’s results, which reflect the severity of this attack.
“This has been a very lengthy and complex investigation owing to the circumstances, whereby, unusually someone has tragically lost their life during the commission of a crime which cannot be forgotten. We are grateful to the victim and his family for all the support they have given us during our investigation, in what can only be described as an extremely distressing time for them.
“I would also like to thank the Crown Prosecution Service for their assistance in this case which has presented many challenges – at the forefront, has been an ethical and transparent investigation interrogating all facets of this tragedy.
“The overriding message from these unfolding events being that any form of violent offending will always be pursued relentlessly by the Greater Manchester Police to prevent any further offending and protect the public. The evidence against these four individuals was overwhelming and I would like to thank my Major Incident Team for all of their hard work in securing these convictions."
Following Debbie Twist's death, her family released a statement through Greater Manchester Police. They said: "Debbie wasn’t just a mum. She was our best friend and a friend to many.
"She was the best nanna to Elise, Myla and Maisie and mother-in-law to Adam. She was the much-loved sister of Brian, Anne-Marie, Kelly and Sean.
"She was taken from us too soon and under tragic circumstances. She will be missed by everyone. We would like to thank everyone for their kind words, cards, condolences and flowers."
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