A dad who viciously slashed the neck of a young man at a bar before fleeing the country in a private plane has been jailed for at least 26 years.
Murderer Shane O'Brien became one of Britain's most wanted men after he viciously killed Josh Hanson, 21, at a west London Bar on October 11, 2015.
In the aftermath of the murder he used false travel documents to flee the country in a chartered aircraft.
Today he was given a life sentence for the killing, and told he must serve more than a quarter of a century before he is eligible for parole.
O'Brien was finally arrested in Romania in April and brought back to Britain - almost four years after the bloody killing.
During his murder trial at the Old Bailey, jurors were shown CCTV footage of him attacking the road planner in the early hours.
In the footage Mr Hanson is seen clutching his throat and stumbling in the road.
As his horrified girlfriend watches on, blood pours from the 37cm wound cut from his left ear to right chest.
While Mr Hanson was bleeding to death, O'Brien calmly left the bar and called a friend who secured a four-seat plane which flew him from Biggin Hill to the Netherlands.
The killer grew long hair and a beard to disguise his appearance, as well as having a tattoo of his daughter's name covered.
He travelled between Germany, Belgium and Czech Republic using fake identity documents.
When Interpol and Europol added the boxing enthusiast to their most wanted lists, O'Brien's friends helped him lay low.
He managed to wiggle out of the clutches of justice in 2017 when he was arrested in Prague for assault, giving a fake name and then fleeing when released on bail.
In court O'Brien denied murder and claimed he was threatened by Mr Hanson's "very aggressive body language".
The jury did not accept his argument that he only meant to scare the young man, finding him guilty after 55 minutes of deliveration.
Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh said: “Early on it was clear O’Brien was a well-resourced and connected individual.
"With astonishing ease he was able to arrange a trip out of London, a flight out of the UK.
"He had the means and connections to disappear, people who would support him with funds and by supplying fake documentation.
“This was a case where we needed the public and media to flush him out.
"The plan was to get O’Brien’s face recognised across the world and make him a liability to those so keen to support him.
“Tracey and Brooke formed an army of helpers to distribute reward posters across the world. We got O’Brien onto Europol and Interpol’s most wanted lists, a first as previously dual circulation was not permitted.
“We had nearly a hundred potential sightings and we followed up every one - from Lidl in London to Luxemburg.
"At one point we believed he was in Dubai and did a lot of work with authorities there to try to track him.
"He also had links to Spain, France and Ireland.
“In February 2017 he messed up – getting arrested and bailed in Prague for a minor scuffle in a club. It meant we were able to obtain up-to-date images of him, which revealed he’d had a distinctive tattoo on his back of his children’s name covered up by an owl holding a skull, had a full beard and had grown his hair.
"He was also using Italian aliases.
“The work that went into trying to track him around the world was exceptional and I have nothing but thanks and praise for colleagues in the Met, the NCA and all those involved, including media here and abroad who carried so many of our appeals.”
