A brother and sister who organised a joint plot to kill the sister's former lover over a text row have had their murder appeals rejected. Siblings Aaron and Melissa Stubbs saw their appeals, alongside those of their fellow conspirators Stephen Strutt and Peter Walker, thrown out for the murder of Warren Glover.
Glover was killed in 2020 after the siblings vowed to teach him "a lesson" for sending Melissa and her parents abusive messages after she broke up with him. Aaron Stubbs recruited two friends, Stephen Strutt and Peter Walker, to help the duo in their revenge plot.
The foursome set off from Manchester and drove to St Helen's in hunt for their victim, reports the Liverpool Echo. An eyewitness, Andrew Carney, said Glover was aware of the group's intentions and had armed himself with a hammer.
He then used it to strike their car upon their arrival to the area before attempting to flee. Carney says he was then chased down by Aaron Stubbs who then struck Glover with the metal pole knocking him unconscious. Liverpool Crown Court heard the victim suffered a depressed skull fracture and an "irredeemable" brain injury.
He then died from a catastrophic brain injury three weeks later in hospital. At sentencing, Aaron Stubbs was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years and six months; Melissa Stubbs received a 20 years and six months minimum term; Walker 20 years and six months and Strutt 20 years.
All four killers lodged an appeal on two main grounds; the way Carney was made to give evidence and the decision not to allow certain "bad character" evidence about Glover, showing "cruelty to a domestic pet and aggression to his grandmother" before the jury during the trial.
The court heard Mr Carney had given an account to detectives in the aftermath of the incident, but refused to sign a witness statement. He was approached again in September 2020, and refused to co-operate with the court process, prompting a change in tack by detectives.
In a written judgment from the Court of Appeal, Lady Justice Macur, said: "Thereafter, it appears that a decision was made by the police, in agreement with the CPS, to make no further direct approaches to Andrew Carney but to continue to keep tracks upon him, until the anticipated issue of a witness summons, to be sought at a later date. The prosecution team were concerned that further attempts to seek a witness statement or secure his attendance at trial may cause him to 'go to ground'."
The CPS waited until the trial had begun and then applied for a witness summons, compelling Carney to appear in court. Carney reluctantly attended but then left the building, and was arrested at 2am on March 19, 2021. He was taken to court later that day and ordered to appear before the jury, where he refused to answer any questions.
As Lady Macur noted: "When told that refusing to answer questions may render him in contempt of court, Andrew Carney said: 'I understand that your honour. To save everyone else's time I'm going to refuse every question'. The jury were sent out."
Mr Carney was remanded in custody over the afternoon but then given bail over the weekend "to allow him to reflect". On the Monday, he appeared to have a change of heart and indicated he would answer questions and make a witness statement, which the defence objected to.
The trial judge, His Honour Denis Watson KC, ruled in favour of the prosecution and Mr Carney was able to make a witness statement and refer to it in during his live evidence. During the trial, he gave crucial evidence to the jury, including how he saw Aaron Stubbs swing the weapon at Mr Glover's head "like he was swinging an axe to chop wood".
Nina Grahame KC, representing the appellants, argued that the defence were "irrevocably prejudiced" by what amounted to a deliberate tactical decision made by the prosecution not to seek to obtain a witness statement from Carney before seeking a witness summons.
However, although Lady Macur acknowledged the police could have made more of a proactive attempt to get a witness statement before the trial, she wrote "regrettably, the reality is that there are communities in which many potential witnesses are reluctant to make themselves known or to disclose information to the police".
Lady Macur added: "We were not persuaded that the defence found themselves in any worse position than counsel who encounter a witness giving evidence that is not contained within his/her statement. There may well be nuanced differences, corrections or amplification. It is commonplace."
The Court of Appeal also refused to allow the appeal on other grounds, including that more evidence about Glover's propensity for violence should have been admitted before the jury. Lady Macur noted the jury had already been given detailed information about Mr Glover's volatile temper.
An appeal against the length of Melissa Stubbs' sentence was also refused.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
