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| Police killer Dale Cregan faces prospect of spending rest of his life in jail | Police killer Dale Cregan faces prospect of spending rest of his life in jail |
| (4 months later) | |
| Dale Cregan faces the prospect of a whole-life sentence for murdering four people, including two women police officers, after a jury returned verdicts on a series of bloody crimes that shocked Manchester last summer. | Dale Cregan faces the prospect of a whole-life sentence for murdering four people, including two women police officers, after a jury returned verdicts on a series of bloody crimes that shocked Manchester last summer. |
| Cregan will be sentenced later on Thursday at the end of a 77-day trial at Preston crown court during which he admitted four murders, including the killing of the two officers in a gun and grenade attack in broad daylight. He was found not guilty of one outstanding charge of attempting to kill another woman with a hand-grenade. | Cregan will be sentenced later on Thursday at the end of a 77-day trial at Preston crown court during which he admitted four murders, including the killing of the two officers in a gun and grenade attack in broad daylight. He was found not guilty of one outstanding charge of attempting to kill another woman with a hand-grenade. |
| The jury returned a series of mixed verdicts after six days of deliberations on nine other men who had been accused of helping Cregan, 30, to carry out his first two murders, in which father and son David and Mark Short were shot dead in the violent conclusion of a tit-for-tat turf war in east Manchester. | The jury returned a series of mixed verdicts after six days of deliberations on nine other men who had been accused of helping Cregan, 30, to carry out his first two murders, in which father and son David and Mark Short were shot dead in the violent conclusion of a tit-for-tat turf war in east Manchester. |
| Cregan had already admitted the murders of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes on 18 September last year. | Cregan had already admitted the murders of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes on 18 September last year. |
| Wanted by police after murdering David Short – and with a £50,000 reward on his head – Cregan had lured the police officers to an address on the Hattersley estate in Mottram, east of Manchester, with a bogus 999 call. Someone had put a concrete slab through a window, he told the operator, ending the call with the words: "I'll be waiting." | Wanted by police after murdering David Short – and with a £50,000 reward on his head – Cregan had lured the police officers to an address on the Hattersley estate in Mottram, east of Manchester, with a bogus 999 call. Someone had put a concrete slab through a window, he told the operator, ending the call with the words: "I'll be waiting." |
| When the women arrived, wearing body armour but armed only with a Taser, Cregan opened the door and immediately opened fire with a Glock pistol. | When the women arrived, wearing body armour but armed only with a Taser, Cregan opened the door and immediately opened fire with a Glock pistol. |
| He shot both women in the chest, but the officers' body armour stopped the bullets from penetrating. They turned to run, but Cregan shot Hughes in the back several times, causing her to fall to the ground, where she was again shot. | He shot both women in the chest, but the officers' body armour stopped the bullets from penetrating. They turned to run, but Cregan shot Hughes in the back several times, causing her to fall to the ground, where she was again shot. |
| Bone tried to fire her Taser at Cregan but missed and he shot her multiple times. As the women lay dead or dying, Cregan threw a grenade towards their bodies. | Bone tried to fire her Taser at Cregan but missed and he shot her multiple times. As the women lay dead or dying, Cregan threw a grenade towards their bodies. |
| The whole incident, from the moment the two officers arrived to the moment Cregan fled the scene, took less than a minute. During this short time, 32 bullets were fired. | The whole incident, from the moment the two officers arrived to the moment Cregan fled the scene, took less than a minute. During this short time, 32 bullets were fired. |
| He then discarded his pistol and drove off at speed to nearby Hyde police station, from where the women officers had been dispatched. | He then discarded his pistol and drove off at speed to nearby Hyde police station, from where the women officers had been dispatched. |
| Cregan walked into the police station midway through a conversation with his girlfriend on his mobile phone and told the counter clerk he had come to hand himself in as he was wanted by police and had just "done" two officers. | Cregan walked into the police station midway through a conversation with his girlfriend on his mobile phone and told the counter clerk he had come to hand himself in as he was wanted by police and had just "done" two officers. |
| Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester police, defended his force against accusations it should have caught Cregan before he went on to murder Bone and Hughes. | Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester police, defended his force against accusations it should have caught Cregan before he went on to murder Bone and Hughes. |
| He said: "After our two officers, Nicola and Fiona, were murdered in cold blood while on duty, I personally reflected for a long time afterwards as to whether anything more could have been done to prevent their deaths, but quickly came to realise that in a society where we police by consent, you cannot police such evil. | He said: "After our two officers, Nicola and Fiona, were murdered in cold blood while on duty, I personally reflected for a long time afterwards as to whether anything more could have been done to prevent their deaths, but quickly came to realise that in a society where we police by consent, you cannot police such evil. |
| "The British public prize the fact that their police force is routinely unarmed and saw this attack as an attack on all of us. I cannot thank the public enough for the support they have, and still continue, to show us. | "The British public prize the fact that their police force is routinely unarmed and saw this attack as an attack on all of us. I cannot thank the public enough for the support they have, and still continue, to show us. |
| "Those responsible for the murders of Fiona, Nicola, Mark and David Short are established criminals who are a scourge on our society. | "Those responsible for the murders of Fiona, Nicola, Mark and David Short are established criminals who are a scourge on our society. |
| "These men, and others like them, make themselves out to be Mr Bigs, glamorising themselves as some kind of folk heroes who rule through violence, intimidation and reputation, but in reality they spend their miserable lives looking over their shoulders to see who is coming after them and their families. If the rest of civilisation contributed the same as these individuals, we would all still be living in caves." | "These men, and others like them, make themselves out to be Mr Bigs, glamorising themselves as some kind of folk heroes who rule through violence, intimidation and reputation, but in reality they spend their miserable lives looking over their shoulders to see who is coming after them and their families. If the rest of civilisation contributed the same as these individuals, we would all still be living in caves." |
| Verdicts were also returned on the nine other defendants. | Verdicts were also returned on the nine other defendants. |
| Leon Atkinson, 35, from Ashton-under-Lyne, Ryan Hadfield, 29, from Droylsden, and Matthew James, 33, from Clayton, were cleared of the murder of Mark Short in the Cotton Tree pub and the attempted murders of three others in the pub. | Leon Atkinson, 35, from Ashton-under-Lyne, Ryan Hadfield, 29, from Droylsden, and Matthew James, 33, from Clayton, were cleared of the murder of Mark Short in the Cotton Tree pub and the attempted murders of three others in the pub. |
| Luke Livesey, 28, from Hattersley, and Damian Gorman, 38, from Glossop, were found guilty of those charges. | Luke Livesey, 28, from Hattersley, and Damian Gorman, 38, from Glossop, were found guilty of those charges. |
| Anthony Wilkinson, 34, from Beswick, pleaded guilty during the trial to murdering David Short and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. He was cleared of one count of the attempted murder of Sharon Hark on the same day and cleared of causing an explosion with a hand-grenade. | Anthony Wilkinson, 34, from Beswick, pleaded guilty during the trial to murdering David Short and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. He was cleared of one count of the attempted murder of Sharon Hark on the same day and cleared of causing an explosion with a hand-grenade. |
| Francis Dixon, 38, from Stalybridge, was acquitted of the murder of David Short, the attempted murder of Hark and causing an explosion with a hand-grenade. | Francis Dixon, 38, from Stalybridge, was acquitted of the murder of David Short, the attempted murder of Hark and causing an explosion with a hand-grenade. |
| Jermaine Ward, 24, was found guilty of the murder of David Short but cleared of the attempted murder of Hark and causing an explosion with a hand-grenade. | Jermaine Ward, 24, was found guilty of the murder of David Short but cleared of the attempted murder of Hark and causing an explosion with a hand-grenade. |
| Mohammed Ali, 32, from Chadderton, was found guilty of assisting an offender. | Mohammed Ali, 32, from Chadderton, was found guilty of assisting an offender. |
| The crown had alleged that last summer's violence was sparked by a "long-standing feud" between two rival Manchester families – the Shorts and the Atkinsons. | The crown had alleged that last summer's violence was sparked by a "long-standing feud" between two rival Manchester families – the Shorts and the Atkinsons. |
| The Cotton Tree shooting was said to have been ordered by Atkinson and carried out by Cregan with the help of others. | The Cotton Tree shooting was said to have been ordered by Atkinson and carried out by Cregan with the help of others. |
| As Cregan was cleared of the remaining count of the grenade attack on Hark, there was a shout of "Yeah!" from the back of the dock and Cregan turned around with a smile. He shook hands with the other defendants after the verdicts. | As Cregan was cleared of the remaining count of the grenade attack on Hark, there was a shout of "Yeah!" from the back of the dock and Cregan turned around with a smile. He shook hands with the other defendants after the verdicts. |
| Roderick Carus QC, defending Atkinson, asked for his client to be discharged, along with those of the other defendants cleared of all charges - Hadfield, James, and Dixon. | Roderick Carus QC, defending Atkinson, asked for his client to be discharged, along with those of the other defendants cleared of all charges - Hadfield, James, and Dixon. |
| Dixon is on a life licence for his past serious convictions, which the jury was not told about as they were ruled inadmissible. | Dixon is on a life licence for his past serious convictions, which the jury was not told about as they were ruled inadmissible. |
| Trial judge Mr Justice Holroyde QC told the jury that matters may be concluded on Thursday, with the convicted defendants sentenced, later this afternoon, subject to legal discussions. | Trial judge Mr Justice Holroyde QC told the jury that matters may be concluded on Thursday, with the convicted defendants sentenced, later this afternoon, subject to legal discussions. |
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