These are the faces of the eight men who have been jailed for life after they abducted and brutally murdered former boxer, Christopher Hughes. The 37-year-old victim's body was left mutilated on a country road and was discovered by a terrified dogwalker on the outskirts of Skelmersdale.
Christopher was bundled into the back of an Audi before he was viciously attacked by the vigilante gang who wrongly believed the dad had sexually assaulted a teenager, the Liverpool Echo reports. The victim suffered nearly 100 separate injuries and the eight men responsible were sentenced to a combined total of 229 years behind bars this morning after all being handed life imprisonment.
Seven of the men were previously convicted of kidnapping and murder in January following a lengthy trial at Liverpool Crown Court while an eighth has pleaded guilty to the same charges. These are the men who will be spending the majority of their life in prison.
Erland Spahiu, of White Moss Road in Skelmersdale was found guilty of murder and kidnapping. The 34-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years.
Curtis Balbas, of Matheson Drive in Wigan, pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping. The 30-year-old was sentenced to life behind bars with a minimum term of 34 years.
Martin Smith, of Greenwood Avenue in Wigan, was found guilty of murder and kidnapping. The 34-year-old shook his head, took a sip of water then threw his plastic cup to the floor after being handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 33 years.
Razgar Mohammed, of Plane Avenue in Wigan, was found guilty of murder and kidnapping. The 40-year-old was handed a life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years.
Alan Jaf, of Ridyard Street in Wigan, was found guilty of murder and kidnapping. The 52-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years.
Khalil Awla, of Greenwood Avenue in Wigan, was found guilty of murder and kidnapping. The 48-year-old was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 26 years.
Dean O’Neill-Davey, of Conrad Close in Wigan, was found guilty of murder and kidnapping. The 30-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.
Erion Voja, of Peall Road in Croydon, was found guilty of murder and kidnapping. Voya was the youngest defendant at just 21-years-old and was jailed for life with a minimum of 23 years.
After being given his sentence, he addressed the judge saying: "I know myself, I'm no murderer. I'll get my justice one day you t***." Voja's angry outburst continued as he was led into the cells where he is said to have started punching walls as he screamed 'I don't give a f*** any more'.
Andrius Uzkuraitis, of Holly Road in Wigan, was acquitted of murder and kidnapping but convicted of assisting an offender. The 27-year-old was consequently jailed for six years.
John Elvidge KC had told the court that Mr Hughes was discovered dead on February 22 last year at around 11am where his body was found on a grass embankment off White Moss Road South near to junction four of the M58. The father had suffered over 90 brutal injuries to his head, neck, body and limbs.
It is believed that a weapon similar to a hatchet or a machete was wielded in a 'chopping motion' to cause the series of deep wounds showcased on the victim's body. Mr Hughes had been bound and killed four days earlier on February 18, 2022 after the defendants plotted to kill him as they incorrectly believed he had had raped a teenage girl at knifepoint behind a post office.
The vigilante gang had driven around Worsley Hall estate in Wigan the previous evening to track him down and had even entered his home but he had not been in at the time. Christopher Hughes who was a father to a four-year-old girl was cornered the following day at around 4:30pm on Almond Grove before being punched to the ground and bundled into an Audi A4 boot by Balbas and Spahiu.
The car then drove away and Martin Smith sat in the back as a spotter while Mohammed and Vojai patrolled the nearby area in a Mercedes. Balbas then raced towards the Skelmersdale area at speed and CCTV footage caught the Audi entering White Moss Road South which is a short distance away from Spahiu's home shortly after 4:45pm before it left again 20 minutes later.
It's between that time period that the torturous attack took place. A 'burial party' made up of O'Neill-Davey, Spahiu, Voja and Uzkuraitis returned to the scene in the dark and dug a grave on nearby wasteland using shovels, rubber gloves and bin bags;.
They were disturbed by officers who happened to be in the area investigating a crash during the burial. O'Neill-Davey was still 'dressed in his grave digging kit' when he was interrupted by officers but was allowed to go on his way, meaning the burial attempt was abandoned.
The thugs then tried to cover their tracks by changing their phones, deleting messages, destroying CCTV footage and disposing of the Audi. The vehicle was taken to an industrial unit at Douglas Valley Mill Standish where it was destroyed and hidden away.
Mohammed had also been the owner of a motoring business called Star Autos white Balbas and Spahiu shared a business interest in a convenience store. The pair were also said to have worked together repossessing vehicles.
Sentencing, Justice Mark Wall said: "The sense of outrage this allegation instilled in you all became a focused search for the culprit, in order to punish him. You spent the evening hunting down the man you thought responsible.
"It was persistent and organised. I have no doubt, had you found Mr Hughes that evening, he would have been attacked earlier than he was. I have no reason to doubt she was sexually assaulted.
"I have seen no evidence that Mr Hughes was responsible for any assault on her. I am prepared to accept that you all believed that allegation was true. But that belief does not begin to justify the attack on him."
Turning to Mr Hughes' kidnapping the following day, the high court judge said: "It was a slick manoeuvre, taking only a few seconds to achieve. It was done in broad daylight in sight of members of the public.
"You then took Mr Hughes to a quiet spot, where he was killed. The killing was brutal and, in part, sadistic. Over 90 separate stab or slash wounds were found on his body. They were inflicted with at least two weapons - a sharp knife and a machete, or something akin to it
"The attack resulted in him receiving deep wounds and him bleeding for death. It would have been, for Mr Hughes, both humiliating and painful. The impact of the loss of Mr Hughes' life and the brutality of your attack has been made clear to me.
"Christopher's death is still keenly felt and obviously will be indefinitely into the future. He has left behind a young daughter who will grow up without knowing her father.
"Your acts were designed to circumvent justice and ensure your suspicions prevailed over fact. This is murder the seriousness of which is particularly high. It was a murder designed to obstruct or interfere with the course of justice."
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