From a couple who sold a firearm to a gangster to fund a "luxurious lifestyle" to a paedophile pair whose "depravity really knows no depths", these are the Merseyside couples whose offending landed them in the dock together.
Some of the crimes were truly horrific, including those of David and Julie Morris whose repeated abuse was branded "almost beyond belief" by a judge. But others were motivated by financial gain, such as Kevin Barlow and Emma Rodgers, career criminals who held a petrified man at knife point in his own home.
These couples have all appeared in Liverpool's court rooms because of their shared criminal activity. These people have proven that good things don't always come in pairs.
READ MORE: 73 faces and codenames of dozens of EncroChat criminals linked to Merseyside
Fiona Crooks and Vincent Horsfall
A couple sold a firearm to a leading gangster with a history of violence in an Aldi carpark to fund "cosmetic dental work".
Police then discovered a second loaded firearm stashed inside a Berghaus man bag next to a pair of children's wellies when they raided the home of Fiona Crooks and Vincent Horsfall. The mum shouted "we're f***** here" as she learned officers had stormed their address. The pair lived with their six-year-old daughter, with the mum said to have "played her part by encouraging Horsfall to trade firearms in order to make money so they could enjoy the trappings of a luxurious lifestyle".
Liverpool Crown Court heard last month that Horsfall had bought a Cold firearm from a legitimate collector in Lancashire before selling it to a Manchester-based convicted drug dealer. Horsfall picked up the gun on April 28 before travelling to an Aldi in Manchester where he handed the gun over to a "leading" organised crime group member. Horsfall's daughter was in the car at the time.
Horsfall, formerly of Hyde Road, Waterloo, also fell to be sentenced for fraud offences after "offering firearms for sale" on Gun Star and a second website called Mil Web in late 2019. He received offers for the weapons and collected money from his victims, but never provided the goods. Eight such transactions were recorded, but only three complainants cooperated with the police. From them, he took sums of £810, £390 and £360.
Horsfall - who appeared via video link to HMP Liverpool - admitted selling a firearm, possession of a firearm and ammunition and three counts of fraud and was jailed for six years and nine months. Crooks pleaded guilty to intentionally encouraging the commission of an offence and was handed two years.
READ MORE: Couple sold gun to gangster in Aldi car park to fund 'cosmetic dental work'
David Morris and Julie Morris
A deputy headteacher sent photos of schoolchildren to her paedophile boyfriend to feed his "insatiable appetite".
Julie Morris and David Morris filmed themselves jointly raping a young girl in abuse a judge said was "almost beyond belief". The couple laughed about the abuse in vile WhatsApp messages and Julie Morris "giggled" on camera. They were caught out after David Morris, then 52, from Eccleston, St Helens, sent indecent photos to another paedophile online.
Julie Morris, 44 at the time, worked at St George's Central Primary School in Tyldesley, Wigan, where she was the "safeguarding lead". Liverpool Crown Court heard none of the offences committed by the pair were related to her job. But it emerged she sent non-indecent photos of pupils at the Church of England school to her boyfriend, at his request.
Judge Andrew Menary QC said during the trial in December 2021 that a police investigation uncovered "almost unbelievably" 175,000 pages of messages the couple exchanged on WhatsApp. Judge Menary said: "In each other you found some sort of soulmate - whether active or passive - with a shared interest in or willingness to engage in the most serious depraved and corrupting sexual abuse in relation to children."
When their "sordid secret" came to light, the couple tried to avoid arrest, but were caught in a campervan on their way to the Lake District with £10,000. Julie Morris admitted 18 sexual offences, including two counts of rape, while David Morris admitted 34 sexual offences, including seven counts of rape.
Judge Menary said they were both "dangerous" and the case demonstrated "human depravity really knows no depths". He told the pair: "You have lost your good names and your careers." Judge Menary jailed Julie Morris for 13 years and four months, and David Morris for 16 years, each with an extended four years on licence.
READ MORE: Teacher sent paedophile boyfriend photos of pupils
Emma Rodgers and Kevin Barlow
A "toxic" couple with a litany of convictions between them burst into a man's bedsit and robbed him at knifepoint.
Kevin Barlow, who had 43 previous convictions for a staggering 112 offences, and girlfriend Emma Rodgers, 21 convictions for 41 offences, targeted a stranger's Fairfield home. Barlow held two kitchen knives to the victim's stomach and they made off with £1,750 of items during the robbery on April 25 2020.
The pair also threatened a neighbour with the knives during their escape, but police tracked the pair to a nearby garden thanks to a local witness. In a victim statement, Sajad Dogaheh said: "This was an extremely terrifying experience at the time and is still affecting me now." He said he no longer felt safe in his home or going out, and even asked his neighbour to accompany him to the communal kitchen.
CCTV showed the thugs, of Lister Drive, Old Swan, entering the flats and they wee both picked out in an identity parade. The court heard the pair had a "negative influence" on each other and had a "toxic" relationship. They waved at each other in court.
Barlow, who admitted robbery and possessing two bladed articles, has burgled homes since he was 13 and is a convicted drug dealer. He was jailed for eight years, three months, of which he must spend at least two thirds behind bars. Rodgers, whose record includes possessing knives, shoplifting and breaching court orders, was jailed for three and a half years including a two-month suspended sentence she had been subject to at the time of sentencing.
READ MORE: 'Toxic' couple rob victim in terrifying knifepoint ordeal
Kieran Parkinson and Mary Parkinson
A man sexually abused a child and filmed his wife having sex with their pet dog.
Kieran Parkinson groomed the boy with promises of paying him cash, then performed a sex act on himself as the youngster watched. Police also uncovered a series of depraved Facebook chats between him and his wife Mary, in which they discussed raping and assaulting children. Liverpool Crown Court heard in October last year that an investigation into the couple, from Haydock, then revealed that the husband had messaged the victim on social media "asking him to play footsie".
The complainant then told officers that Mr Parkinson, now of no fixed address, had offered him money in exchange for sex acts. On another occasion, the then 36-year-old stood rubbing his private parts in the boy's presence for several minutes. The paedophile denied this had been sexually-motivated, and claimed that he had actually been itching himself.
Steven Swift, prosecuting, described how a stash of videos of women having sex with animals were also found on Parkinson's phone. This included one "lengthy" homemade clip showing his partner engaged in sexual activity with the family dog. Mr Parkinson - who has no previous convictions and appeared via video link to HMP Liverpool - was found guilty of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch a sexual act after a trial and admitted three counts of possession of extreme pornographic images. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Mrs Parkinson, also of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of extreme pornographic images. The then 38-year-old was sentenced to a two-year community order, a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement, and up to 60 rehabilitation days. Judge Swinnerton said: "This is my opportunity for you to sort yourself out. I urge you to take the opportunity to make some changes in your life."
READ MORE: Man sexually abused boy and filmed his wife having sex with their pet dog
Chantelle Duvall-Gregory and Christy Carl-Hewitt
A couple sealed their dog's body in a suitcase and dumped it on the banks of the Mersey after subjecting the animal to months of abuse before it died.
Liverpool Magistrates' Court heard there was evidence Duvall-Gregory, 20, and Carl-Hewitt, 21, had punched, kicked and stamped on two-year-old Belgian Shepherd Snoop, who was found dead inside a bright pink locked suitcase by a dog walker near the Speke and Garston Nature Reserve on January 11, 2022. Pete Mitchell, prosecuting, told the court Snoop had "extensive bruising and fractures to the ribs," two fractured canines, and it was clear the injuries were "non-accidental".
Snoop was also punched to the face, and a youth witness said Duvall-Gregory, who has become a mum, once hit the dog so hard a wooden spoon broke. It was determined Snoop had died of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis after eating a granola bar with raisins in it.
The torrent of abuse took place between April 1 and December 22, 2021 at the couple's former home on Winfield Road, Garston. The suitcase was linked to Duvall-Gregory after her name was found on it. The pair pleaded guilty to inflicting blunt force trauma, physical violence and abusive behaviour on the Belgian Shepherd, to failing to provide an adequate diet, and to failing to take him to a vet when necessary. They also pleaded guilty to one count of breaching their duties as people responsible for ensuring the welfare of an animal.
Duvall-Gregory was sentenced to 22 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge and £450 prosecution costs. Carl-Hewitt, who was under a community order due to a different charge, was sentenced to 22 weeks imprisonment and was immediately remanded into custody. Both were handed a 1o-year disqualification from owning an animal and cannot apply to appeal this for five years.
READ MORE: Couple battered dog for months before stuffing his body in a suitcase
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