A murderer who strangled his girlfriend to death before stabbing her body, a gang who sprayed an elderly widow in the face with an aerosol before snatching her wedding ring and a paedophile teacher were among the Merseyside criminals jailed this week.
Also locked up was a pervert who attempted to groom a girl by sending her pictures of his false leg. Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard that a killer member of the Croxteth Crew led police on a 120mph car chase weeks after being released from prison.
Here are the faces of 10 criminals who were imprisoned in our region in the past week:
READ MORE: Murderer tried to kill girlfriend's ex-lovers hours after killing her
Liam McHale
The heroin and cocaine dealer trafficked millions of pounds of drugs under the pseudonym "Lawless Fly".
Liam McHale funded a lavish lifestyle by netting huge sums of money through the trade of illicit substances. EncroChat notes and messages revealed that he had been involved in supply of 84kg of cocaine, 13kg of heroin and 26kg of cannabis as well as the transfer of around £5.5million in cash.
This allowed him to buy a house in Mossley Hill for £270,000, where police discovered "high value" watches, jewellery, clothing and shoes when they raided the address - with a crypto mining rig having been set up in the garage. His texts also bragged of buying a Rolex for £24,000 and bragged, "joining an expensive golf club in Formby" and shopping at a Louis Vuitton store.
McHale - who has no previous convictions - had been working for a plastics firm but was furloughed during the Covid-19 pandemic, then moved to a £40k job as a telecoms engineer. The dad admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis and money laundering and was jailed for 11 years.
John Maloney
He was part of a gang who forced their way into an elderly widow's home and sprayed her in the face with an aerosol can before snatching her wedding ring from her.
The "team of four close knit individuals" - John Toohey, Paddy Doran, Philip Purcell and John Maloney - posed as workmen when targeting the first victim at her address on Burbo Bank Road in Blundellsands on June 4 this year. They told the 76-year-old that there was an "emergency" and that they needed to shut off the gas and water supply to the property due to roadworks before striking - also yanking a necklace from her person.
The four masked robbers then made their way to another house, where they threatened to kidnap the female occupant's children. When caught after leading police on a 90mph chase in the wrong direction down one of the city's busiest roads, Doran and Maloney told officers that they were innocently out on a walk from their home - which was located 11 miles away.
All four defendants admitted two counts of robbery and aggravated vehicle taking. Maloney was jailed for 15-and-a-half years, Doran was locked up for 14 years and eight months and both Toohey and Purcell were handed 13 years and 10 months.
Liam Duffy
The killer member of the Croxteth Crew led police on a car chase at more than 120mph within weeks of being released from prison.
Liam Duffy smashed into another vehicle and brought a lamppost crashing down as the 15-minute chase came to an end. He had only recently been freed from jail, having previously been handed a 20-year stretch for manslaughter over the fatal shooting of teenager Liam Smith, of the rival Norris Green-based Strand gang.
The 19-year-old was shot in the head and killed outside HMP Altcourse in 2006. The revenge hit came after an altercation in the Fazakerley jail's visiting hall.
Duffy then masterminding a multi-million pound drugs racket from behind bars. The now 41-year-old admitted dangerous driving and was jailed for 10 months, but is not due for release until December 2026 after being recalled on licence
Peter Croft
Croft went on a crime spree on which saw him carry out a number of offences, including battering a 72-year-old man and entering a woman's bedroom armed with a knife.
He demanded money before repeatedly punching the pensioner, knocking him to the floor. The 31-year-old then attempted to break into a number of homes in the Crosby area equipped with the weapon.
When the victim of a house he successfully entered asked Croft why he was there he replied it was because of "neighbours and then aliens". He admitted offences including burglary and robbery and was jailed for three years and seven months.
Kevin Jones
The paedophile attempted to groom a '13-year-old girl' by sending her pictures of his false leg.
Kevin Jones befriended two supposed teenagers on Facebook before engaging them in a series of lewd chats on WhatsApp. But, unbeknown to him, he was actually being ensnared in a paedophile hunters' sting.
The 56-year-old asked one decoy account to supply him with pictures of herself and sent images of his face and prosthetic leg. The three-time convicted paedophile asked "if she liked older men" and if she had "had sex education in school" while "constantly referring to her as a nice girl".
Jones told her he had been masturbating, talked about pornography and instructed her how to access it - asking her to describe what she had seen once she had done so. He admitted two counts of attempting sexual communications with a child, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and two charges of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and was imprisoned for four years.
Robert Massey
The murderer strangled his girlfriend to death and stabbed her dead body before scrawling abuse over her skin with a felt tip pen.
Robert Massey also dressed his deceased partner in designer gear before leaving her lying dead in her flat as he plotted to kill two men with whom he believed she had been unfaithful. The 43-year-old knifed one of them with the same weapon he had used to kill Jacqueline Forest after luring him to the apartment before taking a taxi to his former friend's workplace and attacking him with a pair of scissors.
He had walked free from court two weeks earlier for assaulting the same victim, pouring vodka over her and threatening to set it on fire. Then, after scrolling through her phone and finding suspicious texts, Massey flew into rage - battering and throttling her until she was dead, then knifing her in the womb after finding a pregnancy test.
The killer remained at large for another 24 hours - during which time he went drinking using her debit card, lured one of the men to Ms Forest's apartment and tried to cut his ears off then travelled to the other's workplace and chased him down the street with the scissors. Massey admitted murder and two counts of attempted murder and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years.
Paul Daw
A school teacher groomed and indecently assaulted an underage teenage girl who was one of his pupils.
The historic offences took place in St Helens in the 1990s and only came to light when the victim went to police many years later. The now 55-year-old paedophile groomed the student by lending her books and CDs and giving her compliments before assaulting her.
He previously appeared in court in December 2013 after pleading guilty to filming indecent images of young girls getting changed at the Wirral school where he was now teaching and of teenagers shopping in Liverpool, for which he received a suspended sentence. Daw admitted four counts of indecent assault for his latest crimes and was jailed for 28 months.
Keisha Harty
She left her homeless victim with a permanent scar after stabbing her with a broken wine glass before fleeing to Ireland.
Keisha Harty angrily flipped over a table before launching herself at the complainant during a boozy New Year's Eve party. She then went on the run for nearly a year before finally being brought to justice when she was caught shoplifting.
The 26-year-old admitted wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. Harty was jailed for five-and-a-half years.
Terence Page
The drug dealer "thought he was invincible" and was trying to source wholesale amounts of cocaine only days after the birth of his daughter.
Terence Page traded in huge quantities of class A and B substances on EncroChat, using the handles CuppaTea and WorldPossum. The 40-year-old used two different devices on the encrypted communications service and was involved in the supply of at least 14kg of heroin, 1.75kg of cocaine and 2kg of amphetamine.
The broker and middle man was part of an "intricate network which coordinated, sourced and supplied substantial quantities of class A drugs". He was identified as being the man behind the mask of CuppaTea and WorldPossum after providing personal details within his secret communications, including the names and ages of relatives, as well as referencing his home address.
Page was previously handed eight years and nine months in 2011 over another major drugs operation. He admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and amphetamine in relation to his latest crimes and was jailed for 16 years.
David McMullan
The paedophile travelled from Northern Ireland to Merseyside and raped a girl in hotels and fields after grooming her on Snapchat.
David McMullan sent his teenage victim a string of gifts before flying over to sexual abuse her four times over the course of around 18 months. On one occasion, the 32-year-old plied her with drugs which knocked her out - before she awoke to find him having sex with her.
This came after he sent a parcel to her home on Valentine's Day containing a card with a picture of her face on it and a photograph of a man he purported was himself - as well as a teddy bear, a hoodie, £30 in cash, lubricant and a bubble wand. McMullan admitted four counts of rape and was jailed for 19 years.
READ NEXT: Paedophile attempted to groom 'girl' by sending her pictures of his false leg
Restaurant owner left police officer with split lip after kneeing him in face
Killer's five word message to police after stabbing his neighbour to death
Football yob under curfew after shouting vile abuse at Jamie Carragher
