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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Thomas George

Five people re-arrested on suspicion of murder of 17 year-old stabbed to death

Five people have been re-arrested on suspicion of the murder of a teenager. Groundworker Callum Riley, 17, was found badly injured and 'screaming for help' in the garden of a property on Atholl Drive in Heywood in the early hours of Saturday, September 17 last year.

He died a short time later and a murder probe was launched. The coroner's record shows Callum's provisional cause of death as a stab wound. Seven people were arrested as part of the investigation with six being bailed and one released under investigation.

In a statement issued tonight (Thursday) Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said: "Five people - three males aged 17, 25 and 33 and two females aged 18 and 34 - have been re-arrested on suspicion of murder today (9/3/23) and remain in custody for questioning in connection with the death of 17-year-old Callum Riley in Heywood in September 2022."

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There was a huge outpouring of grief on social media following his death as hundreds of people paid tribute to Callum - who pals affectionately called 'Russell' due to his likeness as a child to a character in the Pixar film Up.

A vigil took place in Heywood and hundreds of people lined the streets of the town ahead of his funeral. Last month, Callum's mother Tracy Marsland spoke to the Manchester Evening News and paid a heartbreaking tribute to her son.

Tributes poured in for the teenage groundworker following his death (PA)

"Callum was extremely popular. I don't think you'll find anybody in Heywood that hasn't got something nice thing to say about him" she said.

"He had a lovely heart and was fun and loving. He was good with me, caring and kind. He was a beautiful soul. I love him millions and miss him immeasurably."

She said on the day before his body was found, he had finished work early and met up with his girlfriend before returning home to get ready to go out for some food and a few drinks with friends.

A cordon in place on Atholl Drive last September (MEN Media)

As he headed out, Ms Marsland recalled her son seeming 'happy and excited' for the evening ahead. "His last words were 'I love you mum' with that beautiful smile," she said. "I said 'have a good night and be careful'. I always said that to him. Off he went and I didn't see him again."

After driving around Heywood's Darnhill estate looking for him after he failed to return home in the early hours, she went home and was told a body had been found on the estate.

A young Callum Riley with his mother Tracy Marsland (Family handout)

"I just knew it was Callum," she said. "I just knew. It was absolutely horrendous." Ms Marsland, who has terminal cancer, said she would 'give anything to hear him stomp up the stairs again in a grump - anything.'

"I say to myself every day that it should have been me. I know I'm dying. Cancer is going to take me, so why couldn't I go and my boy live?"

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