Jailed: evil pair who murdered takeaway owner
A SENIOR police officer has described the killing of Nelson Cheung as “one of the most savage and senseless” murders he has ever investigated.
Detective Chief Inspector Eamonn Corrigan was speaking after two Co Antrim men were jailed for a total of 25 years for the brutal killing of the Chinese businessman.
Sentencing Christopher David Menaul (27) and 35-yearold Virgilio Augusto Fernando Correia at Belfast Crown Court for murdering Mr Cheung and for attacking and robbing his wife Winnie, Mr Justice Treacy said: “The lives of two honest, hard-working people were totally destroyed by the actions of drug-addled, parasitic assailants who were motivated by the need to feed their drug habits.”
While Correia, formerly of Grant Avenue in Randalstown, was told he will serve a minimum sentence of 16 years without any remission before he is considered eligible for release, Menaul, originally from Barra Street in Antrim, was handed a minimum jail term of nine years.
Speaking outside Belfast Crown Court, DCI Corrigan spoke of the viciousness of the crime. “We worked tirelessly to identify the people involved in his vicious and brutal attack. It was one of the most vicious attacks that I have experienced during my service as a police officer,” he said. Mr and Mrs Cheung had just closed their takeaway restaurant on Randalstown’s Main Street in the early hours of January 8, 2015 and were making their way home to Ballymena when their vehicle was rammed by Menaul and Correia.
After 64-year-old Mr Cheung went to speak to the other driver, he was pulled away by Correia who, after demanding money, stabbed the “slight” pensioner 18 times.
Mrs Cheung was dragged from her car by the hair, suffered serious wounds to her head and hand, and had her handbag stolen. After the attackers fled, Mrs Cheung was found by emergency services, covered in blood and cradling her fatally wounded husband.
Mr Justice Treacy said: “This pitiful scene at the side of a country road still haunts the Cheung family to this day. It is an image they will never put behind them.”
The court heard Mr Cheung did not live to walk his daughter down the aisle the day she married, never got to meet his grandchildren, and he and Winnie never got to enjoy their retirement together. After the murder, Winnie and their children returned to Hong Kong, from where they listened to yesterday’s proceedings via Skype.
During a previous court hearing, it emerged that Menaul and Correia had undertaken a ‘dry run’ ahead of the attack on a country road in January 2015.
Addressing Correia, Mr Justice Treacy said that it should have been apparent that when he decided to carry out the robbery, he would have been aware the “slightly build man was not a match for you physically”.
Pointing out the consequences of bringing a knife to the robbery, Mr Justice Treacy told Correia: “A moment’s reflection would have made it clear to you that there was no need to arm yourself with any weapon to overpower and rob these people.”
The judge said Correia’s decision to take a knife to the scene had “a catastrophic effect” and led to an “orgy of deadly violence”, adding Mr Cheung may still be alive today, were it not for his “senseless cruelty”.
The court heard both Correia and Menaul were addicted to drugs, and that their motivation was to rob the Cheungs to pay off drugs debts to paramilitaries.
Menaul was handed a minimum nine-year sentence after it was accepted that he played a secondary role in the murder, but knew about the knife.
He was also handed a 12-year sentence for wounding and robbing Mrs Cheung of a handbag containing an iPad, iPhone, £200 cash and bank and credit cards — as was co-accused Correia.
Appearing beside the two killers were husband and wife Gary and Lisa Thompson, who were sentenced for their roles in the aftermath of the murder.
After murdering Mr Cheung, and robbing and attacking Mrs Cheung, Menaul and Correia went to the Thompsons’ Cunningham Way home in Antrim.
The couple, who now live in Felden Avenue in Newtownabbey, allowed the killers to use their home for refuge, to remove clothing worn during the incident and to clean themselves.
There was also an online attempt to buy a hot tub from eBay from their address in Antrim using one of the stolen bank cards in the hours after the murder.
As well as admitted a charge of assisting offenders by letting the killers use their home, the couple also pleaded guilty to a charge of perverting the course of justice — namely threatening Virgilio Agusto Fernando Correia so as to discourage him from providing his account of police, on January 12, 2015.
Gary Thompson (34) admitted a charge of robbing Mrs Cheung of a handbag and its contents, while his 35-year old wife Lisa admitted handling the stolen goods.
Thompson was handed a sentence of seven years — half to be spent in prison with the remainder of the sentence on supervised licence — while his wife was given a two-year sentence, suspended for two years.
Mr Justice Treacy said that nothing would fill the void left by Mr Cheung’s absence.
The judge said: “Mrs Cheung lost her life partner of 32 years — a man who helped and supported her in every way.”