Hitmen jailed after murdering target’s girlfriend by mistake
A MOTHER-of-two was murdered by mistake after bumbling hitmen shot dead the wrong person.
Hayley Pointon, 30, was not the intended target of a “hit” when she was shot dead in Hinckley in February 2013.
Instead, killers Aaron Power, 25, and Aaron Newman, 24, were tasked with shooting her boyfriend Nigel Barwell.
The pair were jailed for life yesterday at Leicester Crown Court and will serve a minimum term of 31 years each after they were found guilty of her “cold-blooded” murder.
Judge Mr Justice King said: “The scars you have inflicted on each family member will be long lasting.”
“This was in truth a calculated, cold-blooded murder. This was a planned killing and each of you were part of that plan.
“It may never be known who fired the shot but what is sure is each of you were involved in the killing and each had an intention to kill.
“The fact the victim wasn’t the intended victim doesn’t dilute the weight of the attack.”
Judge King added: “No words of mine can express the depth of the relatives’ grief for the loss you have caused at taking her life away at such a young age.”
Ms Pointon’s mother, Kerry Pointon, said: “It has been a soul-destroying two and a half years since Hayley’s death. This verdict, although the one we needed and Hayley deserves, is now only the start to us rebuilding our shattered lives without Hayley there.”
The court heard Ms Poin- ton and on-off boyfriend Mr Barwell were in the garden at his house in Hinckley on February 3, 2013. Power and Newman appeared with a gun and as Mr Barwell ran inside to get a machete, a shot was fired that struck Ms Pointon, piercing both lungs.
She died before paramedics arrived.
Ms Pointon left two children, who were seven and three at the time of the killing.
James House, QC, said: “The moment the gun was fired, their lives changed forever.” He added the investigation has taken a “huge toll” on the family.
Mitigating, Joel Bennathan, QC, asked the judge to take into account Power’s age when sentencing, while Philip Bown said Newman had shown a “degree of naivety”.
CCTV footage, mobile phone records and two vehicles linked Power and Newman to the killing.
A third man, Dylan Whitty, 30, was convicted of assisting an offender and is yet to be sentenced.