John Kinsella (criminal)

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John Kinsella was an English criminal from Everton, Liverpool. [1] He was shot dead in May 2018 by killers using encrypted EncroChat handsets to co-ordinate the murder. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

He was an expert in judo and jujutsu, and was originally from Everton. [4]

He was a criminal associate of gangster Paul Massey and a pallbearer at his funeral. [5] [6] [7]

Criminal history

In 1991, Kinsella was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court to nine years' imprisonment for attempted robbery and carrying a firearm with intent to commit an offence. [4]

In 2006, he was involved in a robbery in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and was put on trial for it in 2008. [8] During the trial, the jury was read a letter from the father of Steven Gerrard saying that Kinsella had stopped his son from being threatened by a criminal, George Bromley Jnr, known as "The Psycho" in 2001. [1] [8] [9] When, during the trial, Kinsella was allowed into the court grounds during a lunch break, he absconded. [8] He was convicted in his absence and sentenced to 14 years. [8] He was subsequently arrested in February 2009. [8] [10]

Kinsella's death was the result of a gang feud begun in 2015 between two rival criminal organisations in Salford. [7] One gang, headed by Michael Carroll, had Mark Fellows and Steven Boyle as members. [7] The rival gang, said to be headed by Stephen Britton, called itself "the A-team". [7] Kinsella and Massey were associated with the latter gang.

Death

Kinsella was shot dead on 5 May 2018 near St Helens Linkway in Rainhill by Mark Fellows. [1] [6] [11]

Fellows was found guilty of the murders of both Kinsella and Massey in January 2019. [6] [11] Stephen Boyle was convicted of murder for his part of acting as a "spotter" in the murder of John Kinsella. [6] [11]

It was later revealed during the investigation that the murder of Kinsella was organised by means of EncroChat devices. [2] [12] [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Underworld enforcer named as St Helens shooting victim". BBC News. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 Staff (26 November 2018). "Underworld duo 'murdered in gangland feud'". BBC News .
  3. 1 2 Hamilton, Fiona (2 July 2020). "Hundreds of arrests as police crack phone network used by crime bosses". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460. His trial was told the hits were co-ordinated using Encrochat on a device which cost £1,500 for a six-month contract and was sold on websites visited by those engaged in crime.
  4. 1 2 Thomas, Joe (6 May 2018). "Who was John Kinsella? 'Gangland fixer' who helped Steven Gerrard shot dead". Liverpool Echo . Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  5. ↑ Keeling, Neal (31 May 2018). "Exclusive - the moment murdered John Kinsella carried Paul Massey's coffin at his funeral". Manchester Evening News .
  6. 1 2 3 4 Perraudin, Frances (16 January 2019). "Hitman guilty of murdering Salford 'Mr Big' Paul Massey". The Guardian . Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Hurst, Pat (26 November 2018). "Gangland feud led to double murder of underworld 'Mr Big' Paul Massey and mob 'fixer' John Kinsella" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fugitive Gerrard 'fixer' arrested". BBC News. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Court cuts confiscation bill of Steven Gerrard 'fixer'". BBC News. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  10. ↑ Perraudin, Frances (17 January 2019). "Gangland hitman gets life term for murder of Salford 'Mr Big'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 "'Mr Big' Paul Massey murder: Hitman gets life in jail". BBC News. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  12. ↑ Hughes, Janet (21 May 2019). "The £3,000 a year encrypted mobiles with kill pills used by gangs". Gloucester Citizen .

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