Two men jailed after stabbing Huddersfield man at random and hiding body

Paul Early's body was discovered hidden behind broken furniture in a cellar in June 2022

Keiran Doherty and Sanchez Francis
Author: Liam ArrowsmithPublished 24th Jul 2024

Two men have been jailed for life after killing a man in a random attack in Huddersfield, and hiding his body behind broken furniture in a cellar.

Police discovered Paul Early's remains a a home in Fartown in June 2022, after going to arrest 19-year-old Kieran Doherty in connection with a robbery.

It emerged he and another man, Sanchez Francis (24), had attacked Paul in the early hours of the morning, before dragging him into the house and killing him.

DCI Matthew Holdsworth, who worked on the case, said the violence inflicted on Pail was "the worst I have seen in my policing career".

He said: "”Paul was the victim of a horrific assault by these men who committed a final indignity on him by attempting to conceal his body.

“The attack on Paul was made all the worse by him clearly being selected by the pair at random. Paul was merely walking around the area when he was spotted by the pair.

“We hope seeing the males sentenced will bring some comfort to Paul’s relatives and friends and allow the victims of the robberies to know no other people will not be subjected to the same ordeal they were.”

Doherty was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years six months for all his offences.

Francis was sentenced to life imprisonment with an overall minimum term of 21 years for all his offences.

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