Two close friends who thought nothing of roaming the streets of Huyton carrying loaded guns are now reaping the grim rewards of their thuggish lifestyles.
On Monday Rueben Murphy, 26, began a life-sentence for the murder of dad-of-two Patrick Boyle, shot twice in the chest as he stood chatting with friends in Newway, Huyton, on July 1, 2021. Murphy was handed a 31 year minimum term at Liverpool Crown Court and will be in his late 50s before he has even a slim chance of Parole.
Drug-dealer Murphy's efforts to cover his tracks were so poor he cycled back to his own home after the shooting and left a pair of black gloves, sprayed with gunshot residue and containing traces of his DNA profile, on top of a kitchen cupboard for police to find. His recklessness and incompetence were perhaps surpassed by his friend and fellow street thug James Freeman only six weeks earlier.
