Detectives investigating a shocking double murder at a Moss Side lockdown party have offered a £50,000 for information which brings the killer to justice.
Officers today (Wednesday) made the offer on the third anniversary of the fatal shootings of Cheriff Tall, 21, and Abayomi 'Junior' Ajose, 36.
Police believe Cheriff was shot first when a row suddenly erupted with the gunman - and moments later father-of-three 'Junior', a support worker, was also gunned down after he stepped in to help. Both men were shot in the head during a lockdown party held in a car park off Caythorpe Street, Moss Side, in the early hours of June 21, 2020.
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The name of the suspect, believed to be from Birmingham, was very quickly known by police and the community of Moss Side but he has so far managed to evade capture. Detectives believe he has fled the country.
Police believe the prime suspect, with a number of associates, had travelled up from Birmingham to attend the party and then fled afterwards. Police have made a number of arrests in the Midlands but so far nobody has been charged.
Despite a pain-staking investigation in which police have tracked down or interviewed hundreds of people who were at the party, which breached lockdown rules in force at the time, detectives have been confronted a wall of silence.
Now detectives have put up a £50,000 reward for information which leads to a conviction. Officers say people at the party will have seen parts of the shooting incident or the the verbal argument which preceded it.
Police have not found the handgun involved in the shooting but found three shells at the scene. They suspect the incident may also have been captured on mobile phone footage.
Det Chief Insp Neil Higginson, who is in charge of the murder investigation, told the M.E.N: "We want people to come forward. We appreciate that might be difficult for people in this type of case but we've had it before where people have come forward and we have supported them through the process.
"What I want is for people to come forward initially just to have a chat with us to let us explain to them what support we can give them.
"I know there can be a reluctance to come forward because people don't want to be seen as a grass. What I ask is for people to think about the families involved in this case. Ajose has three young children who have lost a dad and both families are desperate to get justice.
"We need the public to help to get this convicted.
"That help can be about what happened on the night. It may be that some people have not seen the whole incident but some parts of if. It may be that some people don't know who the offender is but they can still give us crucial information. Or they might have some information about what's occurred since.
"But undoubtedly people will have that information and we need it.
"It's difficult for people to come forward. If they make that initial approach, we can have that honest conversation with them about what help we can provide. I'm prepared to meet anybody at any time at any place.
"We know people don't want to be considered a grass. In terms of the money, we appreciate it's difficult for people to come forward and we want to give people or individuals as much incentive as possible to so, and £50,000 is a significant amount of money."
Last year, on the second anniversary of the murders, Abayomi's wife Lola said: "It's affected us in every way, not for the good, especially with the children. Every day's like a reminder that he's not here anymore and life's never going to be the same without him."
She added: "As a father, he was a fun dad. He loved his kids, doted on them, and did everything for them. As a husband, I feel like I was spoiled because he did everything for me as well.
"Yeah, he loved partying and loved being around family and friends. He just wanted everybody to be around and happy and laughing and dancing. He loved dancing. He had some crazy moves that nobody could ever... well I tried to do, not anyone else. He was just fun to be around."
Appealing for anyone with video footage or information to help bring the killer to justice, Lola said: "It would just mean so much to us as a family for any footage, any pictures, anything that you can bring to the police and get in touch with them just to bring whoever it is that murdered my husband to justice."
Cheriff's father Moussa Tall endorsed Lola's appeal and said at the time: "He's a killer, he's dangerous to society. Maybe he already killed or is awaiting to kill again. Somebody who killed two people in one night with no remorse, without anything and without any respect. You know that (person) can kill again. So I'm calling for that somebody who knows something to just come forward and help us, help the police to catch this killer because two years is too long.
"We and the family, we're not eating, we're not thinking. Because I cannot share this country with this killer while he's still here, somewhere out there. My rest is not good anymore. The whole family is broken up completely. I'm really calling to that somebody who knows something, please, please come forward. (It's) just a little thing you need to do, a little thing. And that little thing can do a lot of things.
"It can help people and help the police to catch this killer. This is very hard for the whole family. This is very hard for the whole community exactly at this time when the anniversary comes to remember the death of Cheriff. It brings memories again, so many, and it's very, very hard for the whole family, especially the whole community.
"We appreciated everybody's help, and we welcome everybody's help (from) the community, the police, the friends. We welcome the wonderful job you are doing but we just need to push a little bit with the work with everybody. Something can be done now.
"So please, please, I'm asking (for) that little thing, please come forward and justice will be done."
Det Chf Insp Higginson, the senior investigating officer on the case, added: "I am sad to say that in this period we haven’t been able to get the justice the families deserve. I still believe that we can achieve this, but I know that we require the help of the public to do so.
"We have a good understanding of what occurred that night and we do have an outstanding suspect, but we need more evidence. This evidence could be provided to us by people who were present when the murders occurred or those who have possession of mobile phone footage from that night.
"We know most people who were present were there to enjoy themselves and not cause trouble, as it showed many people present at the gathering. So, we are certain that they will have vital detail that can help in our investigation in the events leading up to, during or after the murder. Our focus is to obtain this key evidence so that we can convict the person responsible for the murders.
"Please - if you know something, however small you think it may be, get in touch. It’s not too late."
Anyone with information - 'however small or insignificant it may seem' - is asked to contact GMP on 0161 856 0110, quoting incident number 221 of 21/06/20. Alternatively, reports can be made anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Information, including pictures and videos, can also be uploaded anonymously to the Major Incident Public Portal under ‘Operation Tarnbrook’ here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/06GMP20S30-PO1.
