Michael Rainsford still wakes up every night - his dreams interrupted by flashbacks of the fateful evening three years ago when his family’s life changed forever.
Michael and his wife suffered the worst nightmare any parent can imagine on April 7 2020, when their son Mikey was shot twice through the kitchen window of their home in Litherland, Merseyside.
The 20-year-old was looking forward to seeing his girlfriend and had just asked his dad for a lift to her house.
They’d been dating for nine months and were very much in love, making plans to go on holiday to the lake district and looking forward to a bright future together.
Now, three years on, Michael senior says he will never be able to forgive his son’s killers. He says: “I’m still very angry, very bitter - they took Michael’s life away, all of our futures away.
“All of the things he was going to do… It’s something I have to live with every single day.”
The night Mikey was killed was just like any other Tuesday evening. Michael senior was watching TV with Mikey’s 16-year-old brother Joshua while Mikey’s sister and mum rested upstairs.
Mikey asked his dad if he could drive him to his girlfriend’s house. He agreed, but as it was late, he asked his son to hurry up as he was tired and wanted to call it a night.
Michael says: “He went into the kitchen to grab some biscuits and after a couple of minutes I went in to say 'can you get a move on please son.’ But I never got to finish my sentence.”
The doting dad still remembers the silent air being smashed by shattering glass as two bullets shot through the window in quick succession - the first hitting young Mikey in the back and the second catching him as he tried to flee out of the way.
Michael says: “We just ran through to the hallway and huddled there - we were holding onto each other and I felt him slip and he said ‘dad’ - that was the last thing he ever said to me.
“I was screaming for help - all I could think of was please hurry up, I was shouting it as loud as I could. I was beyond terrified…. frightened for Michael…. I just wanted to help him.”
Five minutes earlier, the family had been watching TV but now their own lives resembled a harrowing scene from a crime drama.
Armed police shouted instructions as medics tried to resuscitate Mikey and blue flashing lights and sirens pierced the eerie silence of the otherwise quiet residential street, now a murder scene.
After 20 minutes, police officers informed them Mikey had died.
Fighting back tears, Michael says: “Mikey was a caring boy, he cared for his disabled mum. Telling my wife was one of the hardest things….
“I just said ‘I don’t know how to say this but Michael’s been killed’. We then blindfolded my wife and daughter so they didn’t have to see the murder scene.”
In a new ITV documentary on how social media played a part in capturing his son’s killers, Michael shares how his son was loved by everyone he met and had never been involved with gangs.
His son’s murder was a revenge attack by gang members who targeted the wrong man.
As a small child, young Mikey was very shy - his dad remembers he would hide under tables at parties or be the one ducking behind the curtain in the corner.
“As he got a little bit older and discovered his passion for skateboarding he came out of his shell.
“We’re very lucky to have a state of the art skate park close by to where we lived and he’d be there six nights a week. I still love watching videos of him skateboarding to this day. Other skaters would stop and watch him and bang their boards in appreciation of his talent..”
Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court found two brothers were responsible for Mikey’s death after bricks were thrown through the windows of their nearby home.
James Foy, 19, was jailed for life with a minimum of 28 years and Michael Foy, 22, was jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years.
Their uncle, Craig Johnson, 39, was sentenced to three years while mum, Joyce Smith, 46, was given 30 months. Their neighbour, 48-year-old Andrea Saunderson, was sentenced to 18 months suspended for two years.
Social media helped the police to build a strong case - along with CCTV footage of two males travelling between the crime scenes, the prosecution got hold of a warning posted on James Foy’s SnapChat account which read “Tell ye mar duck don’t use bricks” followed by two explosion symbols.
Unfortunately, for Michael the nightmare doesn’t end there.
“It was just a shard to me,” he says, recalling the verdict. “A very thin piece of relief because it wasn’t going to bring Michael back.
“Time has stood still for me, my family and Michael’s friends since 11.08pm on Tuesday, April 7 when evil visited our family home.
“We were there, we witnessed it. The memories don’t go away - they stay with you and they haunt you forever.”
ITVX’s new series, Social Media Murders is on now.
