Two men and two boys who kicked a dad of two to death in a churchyard for his £11,000 gold Rolex watch then ran off "in a state of exhilaration," a judge today said.
Lewis Peake, 29, Michael Wilson, 20, from Kirkby, and two youths, also from Kirkby, aged 14 and 17, savagely beat Steven McMyler in an attack which killed him.
Organiser Peake, 30, recruited a so-called "Liverpool Four", some of them just boys, who had arrived in Wigan by train from Kirkby.
Peake had spent part of the day drinking with 34-year-old Mr McMyler as he eyed up his expensive jewellery and tried to offer two schoolboys £100 each to batter him.
When they refused, he approached the Merseyside boys to carry out the beating in which the dad's head was kicked repeatedly in the grounds of Wigan Parish Church on August 6 last year.
Peake, from Little Lever, later returned to the scene as Mr McMyler lay unconscious "with his face purple" and made off with his phone and suitcase.
Today, at Manchester Crown Court, the four killers were locked up for a total of 36 years.
They were convicted of manslaughter after a jury found they deliberately helped or encouraged the attack.
All four were also found guilty of conspiracy to rob.
On Friday, Peake, of James Street, Little Lever, Bolton, was jailed for 13 years; Wilson, of Northfield Close, Kirkby, received a nine-year sentence, and the 14-year-old and 17-year-old, who both cannot be identified for legal reasons, will be detained for six years and eight years.
Jordan Short, 20, of Rushey Hey Road, Kirkby is due to face court at a later date, on the same charges, after illness stalled his prosecution.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Turner told the defendants: "The jury were sure the CCTV depicted you, Peake, taking the Liverpool group to one side and shortly after Mr McMyler was attacked with all of you in close and intimidatory proximity.
"After the attack the members of the Liverpool group all ran off and made their escape in what am I sure was a state of exhilaration, the description given by witnesses.
"I have heard about the impact which Mr McMyler's death has had upon his mother, his two young daughters and their mothers.
"His loss has had a deep impact and no sentence of this court will come close to atoning for his death."
On the day of his death the joiner, Marsh Green, Wigan, had been in a nearby town centre pub when Peake, then 29, learned he was wearing the 18-carat Submariner watch.
Peake first tried to persuade two boys, aged 12 and 13, outside The Raven pub to help him rob Mr McMyler and offered them £100 each, a court heard.
When the offer was rejected he persisted with his "cowardly" plan as, by chance, the group from Liverpool entered the churchyard after arriving by train from the city, the court was told.
The Crown said the defendants were "opportunistic predators" who saw an opportunity to take advantage of Mr McMyler, who was alone and worse the wear for drink as he was kicked in the head.
The trial heard Mr McMyler had opted for a "clean break" by travelling to Thailand, but decided against it when he realised he needed to self-isolate for a fortnight because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He returned from London to his home on the afternoon of August 6 and still had his suitcase with him.
The court heard Peake later shamelessly returned to the attack scene and casually made off with Mr McMyler's phone and suitcase as he lay dying.
The watch has never been recovered.
Speaking after today's sentencing, Detective Sergeant Heidi Cullum, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "Our endeavour from day one of this investigation was to get some justice for Steven's family and friends after he was so tragically taken away from them.
"On that evening last August, Lewis Peake, Michael Wilson and the two teenage boys, embarked on what was ultimately a fatal plot to rob Steven of his watch - when what they actually ended up doing was robbing him and his loved ones of his life.
"Their cowardly actions and subsequent denial of their roles in this killing means that there is great satisfaction for the investigation team that these four are now behind bars.
"No sentence could ever be enough for Steven's family, who have been subjected to their own life sentence, and they now must prepare to relive the trauma once again for the final trial of the fifth defendant later in the year.
"They have remained admirably strong throughout this case and my thoughts, and the thoughts of all the investigation team, remain with them today."
