Good evening, these are the latest ECHO headlines on Tuesday, May 10.
Texts Ava White's alleged killer sent to mum after stabbing
Ava White's alleged killer texted his mum saying he was "gonna end up going the cells for nothing".
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Ava, 12, was stabbed in the neck during an altercation with a teenage boy in Liverpool city centre. Boy A, 14, from South Liverpool, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murder and manslaughter.
Prosecutors say he stabbed Ava after she pushed him during an argument over him filming a video of her, which he posted on Snapchat. They allege Boy A smirked, laughed and ran away, leaving her to die, then began a "cover up" by discarding his flick knife, designer coat and mobile phone.
A jury has heard Boy A accepts responsibility for fatally injuring Ava on November 25 last year, but argues he acted in self-defence. The second day of a trial at Liverpool Crown Court saw the playing of CCTV footage of the stabbing in School Lane, near The Bluecoat, off Church Alley, at around 8.35pm.
The jury was later shown various clips of Boy A and one of his friends, Boy B, 14, running away from the scene and heading out of the city centre. Boy A ditched the knife near some derelict houses and put his designer coat in a blue bag in a wheelie bin.
Smiling cocaine boss thought he was 'undetectable'
Police found an incriminating photograph on the phone of a criminal who helped organise a violent drug robbery in Liverpool.
Liverpool gangster Richard Caswell conspired with the Cox crime family to steal 30kg of cocaine from a house on Croxdale Road West. A father and son suffered serious injuries during the raid when they were slashed and beaten by Caswell, Jason and Craig Cox.
Police became aware of the £1.2m robbery on Croxdale Road West following the penetration of the EncroChat phone network. They also discovered that the Cox gang had sold some of the stolen drugs to East Manchester criminal Leon Atkinson.
During the investigation police found a photograph of Atkinson which had been sent to Jason Cox. Atkinson, an associate of Dale Cregan, was well known to Greater Manchester Police.
Huge queues at Liverpool passport office as people wait for hours
Holidaymakers faced long queues at Liverpool passport office as people from across the country tried to get new papers.
Prior to the covid pandemic, people were advised of waits of around three weeks. But processing times can now take up to 10 weeks, according to HM Passport Office.
The government has seen an unprecedented surge in applications as five million delayed applying for a new passport during the pandemic. The huge backlog means people are struggling to get a passport in time for their travels.
Home Office minister Kevin Foster said his advice remains unchanged and anyone heading overseas this summer should submit new passport applications and renewals as soon as possible. But he added in the House of Commons: "We are making a range of efforts - staff are working weekends, incentivised overtime - and certainly we're confident we will not need to change the 10-week target."
