Killer told he must serve at least 25 years in jail
AN addict who murdered a drug dealer for his money has been told he will serve a minimum of 25 years in jail.
Jason Byrnes, 26, was sentenced to life after he pleaded guilty to murdering 21-year-old Mohammed Aftab after they arranged to meet in Rochdale on Christmas Eve.
They arrived at the car park of the Bulls Head pub in Wardle at 10.37pm in the same vehicle.
Immediately after stopping, driver Byrnes launched a vicious attack on Mr Aftab, who was sat in the passenger seat.
Mr Aftab was stabbed five times in the neck and attacked with a hammer. Byrnes had the weapons in his van.
Four minutes later, Byrnes, a cocaine addict £3,000 in debt to dealers, drove away and dumped Mr Aftab’s body in a country lane.
His body was discovered by members of the public Day.
He had multiple injuries and stab wounds. When Byrnes was arrested he was found to have blood on his boots, which forensic tests confirmed belonged to Mr Aftab.
Following his death, police discovered Mr Aftab had become a drug dealer, primarily selling on Christmas cannabis. Officers recovered a mobile phone he used to sell drugs. Analysis of phone records showed Byrnes had been in regular contact with Mr Aftab prior to the murder.
Sentencing at Manchester Crown Court, Judge David Stockdale QC ruled that Mr Aftab had been killed for Byrnes’ gain.
Addressing Byrnes, the judge said: “Mohammed Aftab was a drug dealer, but whatever his way of life, he did not deserve to die, even less to be murdered in cold blood.
“You killed Mohammed Aftab for his money.
After killing Mr Aftab, Byrnes fled to Preston where he spent time in two Premier Inn hotels.
He was seen ‘flaunting’ large amounts of cash in front of staff.
Byrnes, of no fixed abode, also made an expensive taxi journey from Preston to Rochdale to buy drugs, costing about £60 each way.
During the journey, he boasted to the driver that he was ‘planning the party of a lifetime’. ●●Jason Byrnes was sentenced to life in prison and told he would serve a minimum of 25 years behind bars for murdering Mohammed Aftab