Two men have been charged with the murder of a homeless man in Salford, who died when his tent was set on fire.
The body of 23-year-old Daniel Smith was found in a tent pitched under a railway bridge, in the Ordsall area, in the early hours of 20 January. He had been a rough sleeper for a number of years.
Adam Acton, 24, and Luke Benson, 25, have been charged with murder and appeared at Manchester and Salford city magistrates court on Wednesday. They were remanded to appear at Manchester crown court on Friday.
Eight other people have been arrested in connection with the death, including a 28-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy.
At about 1.20am on Wednesday 20 January, police were called to Irwell Street in Ordsall following reports that a tent under a railway bridge was on fire. When Greater Manchester fire and rescue service extinguished the fire, Smith’s body was discovered in the tent.
A Home Office postmortem concluded that he died from multiple injuries. DS Jon Chadwick from Greater Manchester police’s major incident team said: “A lot of work has been done with regards to this investigation and we have made quite a large number of arrests but there is still much more to do.
“We have had quite a good response from the public to this appeal and I would like to continue to ask for their invaluable support and urge anybody with information to please come forward.”
Anyone with information should call GMP’s major incident team on 0161 856 8797, or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
