Two men have been jailed for a minimum of 28 years for the murder of their friend whose body was found chopped up in four suitcases. The grim discovery of father-of-one Ashley Walsh, 34, was made in bushes close to a school at Sandhills Park in Collyhurst, Manchester, more than a week after he was last seen.
Talented motocross rider Mr Walsh had been drinking and taking drugs with Aaron Evitt, 34, and Gerard McGlacken, 45, on the night of January 7 when an argument with Evitt and the victim turned violent. Evitt picked up a claw hammer and repeatedly struck Mr Walsh to the head and face with heavy force at McGlacken’s flat in Collyhurst, Manchester Crown Court heard.
McGlacken then joined in the attack as Mr Walsh also suffered deep stab wounds to the chest from a knife. Later, Mr Walsh’s head was removed and his body dismembered before the parts were put into plastic bags. They were transferred into the suitcases, which Evitt took by pedal cycle to the park on a number of trips.
