Four due to to be sentenced over torture and death of Liverpool dad

Four men are due to be sentenced this morning over the brutal torture and killing of a Liverpool dad

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Joseph McKeever was held captive and subjected to extreme violence over two days in June 2017.

His badly burnt body was eventually found in the boot of a burning car.

The CPS said that Jamie Grimes, 22, Dylan Owen, 23, Karl Kelly, 32 and Darren Colecozy, 23, were all involved in his death.

A jury found Grimes, 22, of Breckside Park in Anfield, guilty of murdering Mr McKeever.

Kelly, from Old Swan and Darren Colecozy, Wavertree, have been found guilty of manslaughter and false imprisonment.

Kelly had also earlier pleaded guilty to assisting an offender. Owen from Walton was found guilty of assisting an offender in the commission of a murder.

Mr McKeever was seen on CCTV with Jamie Grimes and another man who is still at large, Lee Knox, in a pub in Liverpool the day before he was assaulted on 14 June.

They were seen to be having animated conversations over a long period of time. The next day Mr McKeever met with Knox and Grimes again.

At around 5.50pm on that day Mr McKeever was captured on CCTV at MGM motors on Brecon Street in Liverpool where Jamie Grimes worked and had a container within the grounds.

He was seen in company with Jamie Grimes, Lee Knox, Dylan Owen and another unknown male. Mr McKeever was seen to walk towards the container. He was never seen alive again.

A prolonged and brutal assault took place in the container over a four hour period. Dylan Owen drove Mr McKeever’s car away from the garage and burn it out the following morning.

Later on in the evening Karl Kelly went to MGM motors. He collected Darren Colecozy. Kelly was seen in conversation with Lee Knox at the container. Mr McKeever was placed in the back of a Citreon Nimo van owned by Jamie Grimes.

By this time he was badly beaten and tied up. Karl Kelly and Darren Colecozy led the van driven by Jamie Grimes back to Picton Crescent and a flat rented by Darren Colecozy.

Mr McKeever was moved into the flat where further assaults took place during the course of the night. During this time Colecozy texted a friend describing what was happening as “mad” and compared it to dramas showing the violence associated with drug dealing. At some point, Mr McKeever died.

Jamie Grimes returned to the container that morning to clean up any trace of Mr McKeever. The police discovered oil on the floor that had been spread in an attempt to destroy forensic evidence.

Jamie Grimes also deleted footage from the CCTV camera that covered the garage. The police were later able to retrieve that deleted footage and also traces of Mr McKeever’s blood in the container.

Grimes and Knox fled to Spain on the afternoon of 15 June. At 5.30pm on that day, Kelly and Colecozy met with other unknown men who helped get Mr McKeever’s body out of the flat and into the car that would later be found burnt out.

Karl Kelly and Darren Colecozy cleaned up the flat but forensic officers recovered Mr McKeever’s blood on walls and furniture. Kelly’s DNA was found in latex gloves at the scene.

Mr McKeever had suffered significant blows to his head, broken bones including broken knees. There was evidence that he had been strangled.

Rachael Barber, Senior Crown Prosecutor with MerseyCheshire Crown Prosecution Service’s Complex Casework Unit, said: “The level of violence inflicted on Mr McKeever was truly sickening.

“Whatever the background to this case, the evidence revealed that Mr McKeever had been subject to extreme torture before he died.

“We will never really know the true extent of his injuries as his body was so badly burnt when it was eventually recovered.

“These four males all played their part in his death. There are others at large who are still wanted in connection with this enquiry. The hunt for them will continue”