In the dock, faced with the prospect of years of incarceration, defendants have the opportunity to tell their side of the story. Some offer a credible defense, or offer compelling mitigations for crimes they have already admitted to.
Others weave a web of lies. . . and are temporarily discovered. From the killer who claimed to be promoting drugs in the house next door when his victim killed, to the cop who claimed his BMW’s license plates were stolen when he pulled over for speeding, judges and juries have heard it all over the past 12 months.
The Manchester Evening News looked at cases of criminals who lied, blamed others and apologized in court in 2023.
READ MORE: Killers brought to justice in Greater Manchester in 2023
READ MORE: Greater Manchester Police update after father and son killed in crash
A woman said she stabbed her husband twice on the night of the Queen’s funeral because she was “distraught” over the former monarch’s death. Geraldine Parkin, 53, received a 12-month suspended criminal sentence after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm after attacking her spouse in September last year.
The couple had spent the day of the Queen’s funeral drinking, before an argument broke out and Mrs. Parkin began “hitting” her husband. Manchester Crown Court heard from Parkin, a former assistant coach, that there was “no point” in the crisis.
She went to the kitchen, “grabbed” two knives and stabbed her husband in the shoulder and bicep. Then her son took her away.
Parkin had “problems” with alcohol and health, the court heard.
Read the full story here.
A woman was banned from the road for two years after she was caught drink-driving home from a Halloween party. Polo playing Liza Nixon, 55, who had been drinking Prosecco, was nearly three times the legal alcohol limit when police stopped her white Range Rover Sport following a tip-off.
Officers said one child’s mother was so difficult to talk to and that she staggered and stumbled as she walked to the police car. Nixon later said he had planned to take a cab after the Halloween party held at a village farm. from Little Budworth, Cheshire, but made the decision to drive 17 miles to her £1. 4 million property on Townfield Lane in Mollington, near Chester, after being “scared” by two of the guests.
At Chester Magistrates’ Court, Nixon admitted drink driving and was ordered to complete 80 hours unpaid work as part of a 12-month community order.
Read the full story here.
An on-duty police officer claimed that his BMW’s license plates were stolen to avoid prosecution for traffic violations. PC Raja Yousaf, who works at Tameside, recognised him through one of his colleagues from Greater Manchester Police after he saw him driving at top speed on the streets of Oldham.
Deputies lost sight of the car as it left Greenacres Road in the middle of the night. About 20 minutes later, PC Yousaf reported the theft of his license plates, Liverpool Crown Court learned in August.
The incident occurred around July 30, 2021. La policeman who identified PC Yousaf had tried to arrest him using emergency equipment, but his rebel colleague walked away out of sight.
Yousaf, from Tunstall Road, Oldham, turned himself in to Oldham police station in September 2021. On bail, the 28-year-old denied being in the car and said he was in Stockport at the time of the offence.
GMP claims that its investigations showed that PC Yousaf’s mobile phone was in Oldham on the night in question, not in Stockport. He was later arrested and charged with perverting the course of justice.
PC Yousaf was sentenced to four months in prison.
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An XL Bully viciously mauled a mum who was walking with her two children and killed another dog in a series of horrifying attacks just two weeks apart.
Jade O’Brien, who was worried about XL Bully Narla for her ex-partner at the time, then verbally abused the deceased dog’s owner, telling him “it’s not my fucking fault. “Both incidents occurred near the home they shared in Cheadle. Hulme, Stockport.
Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard a woman walking her one-year-old spaniel with her two children in July 2021 when she saw a giant grey dog running down O’Brien’s driveway.
The woman was so worried that she grabbed her spaniel, but the dog attacked her. Nick Smart, a prosecutor, said the animal “began to jump in an attempt to reach the dog it was carrying. “
The woman leaned against a hedge, screamed for help, and bit his forearm. He eventually managed to get rid of Narla, but was left with severe wounds on his arms and legs, with scars that were “still visible six months later. “
In the second attack, two weeks later, a teenage girl was walking her small, white dog near O’Brien’s home when it was set upon and attacked by the XL bully. The teenager was so scared, the court heard, that she ‘ran off believing the dog was going to attack her’.
The white dog was seriously injured and the flesh was torn from its hind leg. He ran to the vet but may not be saved. When her father told O’Brien what had happened and who was to blame for Narla, she told him, “It’s not my fault. Fuck you, damn it. “
She was imprisoned for 4 months.
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A cocaine-fueled driver tried to blame police for his “extremely dangerous” driving, which left a beloved grandmother dead. Chad Rimmington, 32, sentenced to 10 years and 8 months following the murder of Kathleen Kirby in Wigan.
She was walking on the sidewalk with Cliff Bullen, her spouse of more than 20 years. They were returning home after a stopover at a nature reserve.
Rimmington fled police “at full speed” in an Audi TT after they tried to stop him, Bolton Crown Court heard. It reached speeds of up to 120 km/h in a 48 km/h zone on Monday afternoon in a built-up area.
Rimmington crashed into an innocent Amazon delivery van, causing the vehicle to spin out of control and hit 66-year-old Kirby. She died, and Mr. Bullen narrowly escaped a similar fate.
After the horrific accident, Rimmington disposed of the car and was arrested. He told police at the scene: “I killed someone, I’m so sorry. I deserve to die. “
But when questioned after the incident, which occurred on June 26, he refused to look at CCTV footage of the crash and told police they would have to “fend for themselves. “He told police about his behavior: “It’s only harmful when the cop started chasing me. “
Asked why he didn’t stop for them, Rimmington said: “Because I had somewhere to be, I needed to go and say goodbye to my girlfriend.”
“Seriously, stop bothering me,” he said at one point in the interview. Tests revealed that Rimmington was more than three times the limit for cocaine use.
His lawyer said Rimmington was in a “world of grief” at the time his spouse committed suicide and that he planned to do the same that day. He was jailed after pleading guilty to causing death by driving dangerously.
Read the full story here.
A former takeaway manager has been fined thousands of pounds after rubbish bags were dumped on a street in Rusholme. Zaheer Ahmed, the sole manager of Special Lahori Ice Bar Ltd, which operated a café and takeaway on Wilmslow Road.
An investigation by Biffa, on behalf of Manchester City Council, found that rubbish had been littered in the street at several events between April 14 and May 6 last year. The township says the amount of trash on the ground meant they were “frequently blocking the adjacent trail. “
On each occasion, officials who examined the trash uncovered evidence aimed at Ahmed and the Special Lahori Ice Bar business. Takeaway cups, food wrappers and receipts with brands related to the company were also found in the trash.
Ahmed attended a bail interview in June 2022, as a director of Special Lahori Ice Bar Ltd. At the time of the interview, the company was registered to an asset on Barlow Road, Levenshulme.
During the interview, Ahmed admitted that some waste had come from the business, but claimed that it was closed for refurbishment between January and April. He instead placed the blame on delivery drivers and contractors who were working on the property.
Ahmed then blamed the violations on the new members, suggesting that they may not have been aware of the company’s waste disposal provisions.
But he later pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay over £4,000 through the court, adding a fine of £2,700, £1,146. 24 in court fees and a £190 surcharge per crime victim.
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A man who murdered a father in his own home, along with two members of his family circle, claimed that he was dealing drugs in the house next door at the time. Ryan White, 29, convicted after trial in the killing of Warren Burns.
Father-of-two Mr Burns, 37, died after being attacked at his home on Heysham Avenue in Withington, south Manchester in May. He was kicked, stamped and punched to death.
Brandon Blanc, 21; Ryan Blanc, 29; and Damien White, 33, who are related, deny murder. Ryan convicted of murder, Damien convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and Brandon found not guilty of any of the crimes.
Jurors heard that “three men” called at M. Burns’ home “uninvited” before “going up to locate him. ” Mr Burns’ wife was reportedly “terrified” and “ran” out of the space with her 10-week-old partner. -eldest son. Prosecutors say a “sort of grudge” between Burns and the White family likely would have been “rumbling in the background for years. “
Ryan White was sentenced to life in prison for a minimum of 17 years and Damien White was sentenced to 11 years.
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Two rapists attacked a vulnerable young woman in Piccadilly Gardens, calling her a “sex toy”. Brian Jalo, 25, and Juan Quiñones, 24, raped the woman, who had traveled to the city in the spring of 2021.
It was in a hallway next to the memorial in Manchester city centre. She met Jalo and Quiñones a day earlier and they had exchanged high points on Instagram. The next day, she returned to the city.
Around 8 p. m. , he went to Piccadilly Gardens before meeting Jalo and Quiñones. The men were filmed via CCTV taking him down an alley. The despicable couple raped her.
During the trial, Quiñones stated that the woman “smiled and laughed out loud. ” Both were found guilty of two crimes of rape and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
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A couple brutally murdered a father with bloodless blood before telling police they were “vigilante justice. “
Michael Hillier and Rachel Fulstow have been found guilty of the murder of Liam Smith, a 38-year-old father of two, following a six-week trial at Minshull Street Crown Court. Fulstow, 37, was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Judge Maurice Greene told Hillier and Fulstow they acted as ‘judge, jury and executioner’ after they decided to ‘exact vengeance’. He added that they ‘showed no remorse’ following the murder. Both were handed life sentences, with Hillier ordered to serve a minimum of 33 years behind bars and Fulstow a minimum of 30.
Hillier shot electrician Smith in the face, just yards from his home in Wigan, before pouring sulphuric acid at his body. Hillier, 39, said she acted out of revenge after her friend Fulstow alleged she had raped Liam years earlier on a Tinder Date.
After the murder, the couple implemented an elaborate plan to evade justice, which included false ais and a burned-out car. A few days later, after the assassination, they left for Jamaica for two weeks. But when they returned home, the network began to shut down and eventually both were arrested.
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A scammer left a long-suffering mother of 4 with a £20,000 bill after courting her on a date before stealing her car, which contained her disabled daughter’s wheelchair. The rat in love Ben Robinson, 33, enthralled the mother to come out and then asked her. he borrowed his rented Land Rover Discovery, falsely claiming he needed it to go to the department store and buy his son a birthday present.
Despite the discovery of the £16,000 worth of wheelchair – as well as special boots and splints belonging to the daughter of the woman with cerebral palsy – Robinson sold it to “criminal contacts”. He then came up with a number of excuses for not returning the vehicle, adding a false message that he was visiting his sick mother in the hospital before texting the victim to falsely claim he had damaged it in a hit-and-run.
In a made-up message to the mother, Robinson said, “Baby. You want to call the police and report your car stolen. Let’s say you’ve just been given a house from your mother’s space and you find out she’s missing. “
The mum only realised she had been duped when she managed to contact the mother of Robinson’s children to discover he had been lying all along about the vehicle – and about his relationship status with her. The NHS issued wheelchair was later recovered, but was missing a specially-made seat which had been moulded around her body and was rendered unusable. The Land Rover; her boots which helped her stand up; and her splints were never recovered.
Robinson jailed for 27 months.
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