Drugs grower guilty of murder
CANNABIS FARMER ACCUSED VICTIM OF STEALING CROPS
Reporter A CANNABIS producer has been found guilty of murdering a man he accused of stealing part of his crop.
Martyn Burke attacked and killed drug addict Andrew Keenan by punching him in the face, throwing him against a car and kicking him in the head as he lay on the ground on a street in Willington Quay, near Wallsend.
The victim managed to walk away after the assault but collapsed and stopped breathing in the bathroom of a pal’s house on nearby Bewicke Road 16 hours later.
Paramedics resuscitated Mr Keenan, 28, and he was taken to Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, where scans revealed he was suffering from hypoxic brain damage, caused by lack of oxygen, and extensive internal bleeding in the abdomen.
Despite medical couldn’t be saved.
A post-mortem revealed Mr Keenan had a number of external injuries, bruising of the liver, broken ribs and a laceration to the spleen, which had bled extensively internally.
The pathologist concluded that this was the cause of death, Newcastle Crown Court heard. efforts, he
Burke, 27, of Bewicke Road, pleaded not guilty to murder but was found guilty by a jury after a trial lasting more than three weeks.
He was also convicted of conspiring to pervert the course of justice by misleading and lying to officers during their enquiries.
Burke’s girlfriend, Katie Maguire, 30, also of Bewicke Road, was found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice by covering for her partner and lying to officers.
Danny Cockburn, 20, formerly of Bewicke Road but now of Vine Street, Wallsend, was cleared of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent by allegedly updating Burke on the whereabouts of Mr Keenan prior to the attack.
He had already pleaded guilty to conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
All three, along with further codefendants in the perverting the course of justice conspiracy, will now be sentenced next month.
The Recorder of Newcastle Judge Paul Sloan QC told Burke: “I’m going to adjourn sentence in this case but you appreciate there’s only one sentence that can be imposed and that’s one of life imprisonment.”
The judge told Maguire and Cockburn: “I’m adjourning in your cases until July 14. That’s the next stage you must both attend court.
“I’m also directing a pre-sentence report be prepared. The fact I’m adjourning sentence and directing reports is not an indication of sentence. In fact, you’re both at risk of an immediate custodial sentence.”
Burke was remanded in custody until July 14, while Maguire and Cockburn were granted conditional bail.
During the trial, the court heard that Mr Keenan, who was addicted to heroin, was homeless but had been spending nights sleeping at his pal’s flat on Bewicke Road, just doors away from the home of Burke and Maguire.
Paula Campbell, 38, Philip Hicks, 40, both of Vine Street, Wallsend, and a teenage girl had already pleaded guilty to conspiring to pervert the course of justice and will be sentenced alongside Burke, Maguire and Cockburn next month.