Two guilty of murdering Ryan O'Connor - Newport Crown Court
Two others found guilty of manslaughter and robbery and robbery
A second member of a gang has been found guilty of the murder of a Newport man who was killed when he was attacked and robbed last year.
ewis Aquilina - Guilty of murder
ewis Aquilina - Guilty of murder
A jury at Newport Crown Court found Joseph Jeremy, 18, of Cardiff, and 20 year-old Lewis Aquilina, who are both from Cardiff, guilty of one count of murder and one court of robbery.
Witnesses had told the court how members of the gang laughed as 26 year-old Ryan O’Connor lay dying in the attack on Balfe Road. His Gucci bag was stolen.
Kyle Raisis, 18, of Cardiff, was found guilty of one count of manslaughter and one count of robbery, and Ethan Strickland, 19, of Cardiff, was found guilty of robbery.
Raisis and Strickland were found not guilty of murder by the jury, while a 20-year-old man from Cardiff was found not guilty on all charges.
The family of Ryan O’Connor has issued the following statement after the verdicts were issued for four of the defendants in the trial:
“Our lives changed forever on Thursday 10 June last year.
“The outcome today and the sentences that will follow will never bring Ryan back.
“Ryan’s tragic death has left us broken, and those responsible will never realise the impact their actions have had on our family, which will never be the same again.
“It is of some comfort that these violent and dangerous individuals are now off the streets and not able to inflict on anyone else the pain and heartbreak we feel every minute of every day.
“We’re constantly faced with reminders of Ryan and what happened that night.
“We miss him so much and he is forever in our hearts and minds.
“Ryan’s dad, John, sadly passed away during the course of this trial.
“John’s condition deteriorated following Ryan’s death; it impacted him greatly and he was never the same after Ryan was cruelly taken away from us. He never got to see justice done for his son.
“This has been such a difficult time for us all but the support of our local community of Alway has been a great comfort and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank them.
“We’d also like to thank Gwent Police, especially the officer in the case and family liaison officers, the prosecution, and all of the witnesses who have bravely stood up and given evidence in support of the case on behalf of Ryan.
“Without them we wouldn’t have got to the position that we are now in.
“While there are no words that can bring Ryan back to us, we hope that the outcome of this trial will now give us the hope for a fresh start and to move forward in our lives.