A mum has been found guilty of her ex-husband’s killing after he was tortured to death in an 'extraordinary act of barbarism'.
Coleen Campbell, who was married to Thomas Campbell for 10 years, plotted to have him robbed of cash or drugs in his own home.
Mr Campbell, 38, was ambushed and attacked by three men as he unlocked his front door.
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After being subdued he was carried into his home and brutally murdered. Mr Campbell, a cocaine dealer who played an 'integral' part in an organised crime gang, was dragged around his home and viciously attacked for two hours.
He suffered 61 separate injuries after being stabbed, punched, stamped on and he even had boiling water poured on his buttocks. His killers left him to die and his body was discovered the next morning by neighbours in Mossley, Tameside.
After a five week trial, mum-of-four Coleen Campbell was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, after she shared vital information about her former spouse's whereabouts with his killers.
Convicted armed robber Reece Steven, 29, was one of the three attackers on Saturday, July 2. He was convicted of murder. Stephen Cleworth, 38, who had been due to be at Mr Campbell's home that night but did not attend because he was on a 'bender' at a swinger's club, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
He played a key role in the preparation of the 'carefully planned, practised, ruthless, armed assault'. Prosecutors described the attack as an 'extraordinary act of barbarism'.
Ms Campbell, Steven and Cleworth were all found guilty of conspiring to rob Mr Campbell. They all showed no emotion as the unanimous verdicts were announced. Ms Campbell, who wore all black, looked straight ahead in the dock.
She and Cleworth face lengthy prison sentences, while Steven faces a life sentence. Mr Justice Julian Goose will pass sentence on Wednesday.
The judge thanked Mr Campbell’s family and friends, who were in a packed public gallery at Bolton Crown Court, for remaining silent as the verdicts were revealed. A fourth defendant, 50-year-old Karl Murphy, was found not guilty of participating in the activities of an organised crime group, after he drove the killers to the scene.
The alleged 'mastermind' of the fatal attack, John Belfield, 28, who is said to be 'heavily concerned in the large scale supply of class A drugs', is wanted by police.
He was not on trial but was named in court as a co-conspirator, and prosecutors claimed he was one of the three attackers on July 2. Belfield, who has been described by police as a 'dangerous individual', is believed to have fled the country.
The killing followed a meticulous, calculated plan where Mr Campbell was tracked for the preceding week. The trial heard that Belfield had contacted Ms Campbell on Instagram on June 25.
Before he sent her a follow request, the pair were strangers.
Around the same time, Belfield read a Manchester Evening News story about Mr and Mrs Campbell, who previously appeared in court for money laundering. "Couple enjoyed 'five star' lifestyle funded by crime while claiming benefits," the headline of the story read.
Belfield was also angered that his ex-girlfriend had started a relationship with Mr Campbell, the trial heard. In the following days after connecting on Instagram, Belfield plotted with Ms Campbell to have her former husband robbed of cash, drugs or valuables.
He recruited his associate Stephen Cleworth, who in turn brought in his friend Reece Steven to the conspiracy. The trio met up in the Boat and Horses pub in Chadderton on July 27, where Steven demonstrated how tracking devices worked.
Later that afternoon, a tracker was placed on Mr Campbell's van while he was picking up his daughter from school. In the following days, Belfield, Cleworth and Steven conducted reconnaissance trips to Mr Campbell's home to plan their attack.
On June 30, the gang were ready to strike but aborted their planned attack after Mr Campbell went to walk his dog when he returned home, instead of heading inside. They postponed their hit for two days later.
In the week since Belfield messaged her on Instagram, Ms Campbell had met up with him and they shared 35 phone calls and 68 messages. She had shared key information about her ex, including details of his van's registration plate, his house number and his movements.
Then as he went to unlock his front door, at 11.06pm on July 2, three men burst out of a Vauxhall Combo van parked on the drive of an unoccupied house. Mr Campbell screamed as he was viciously attacked, before being dragged inside.
His home was ransacked and his blood covered the walls, as his attackers launched their horrific assault. Two hours after pouncing on Mr Campbell, his killers left him to die, lying in his hallway.
It is unclear what, if anything his attackers robbed him of.
Police launched a murder investigation after his body was discovered by neighbours the next morning. Officers did not recover the attackers' DNA from the house, and a CCTV system had been ripped out.
The killers changed their clothes and swapped cars as part of a sophisticated plan to evade detection.
But a meticulous police investigation using cell site data, CCTV footage and other circumstantial evidence led to Ms Campbell, Cleworth and Steven being brought to justice. The jury of seven men and five women found them guilty after being sent out to deliberate on Friday morning. Jurors returned at 12.20pm today with unanimous verdicts.
Coleen Campbell, 38, of Bamford Street, Clayton; Stephen Cleworth, 38, of Charles Street, Heywood; and Reece Steven, 29, of Poplar Street, Middleton, were remanded in custody ahead of sentencing.
Karl Murphy, 50, of Lancaster Road, Denton, was discharged from the dock.
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