Jail for man who tried to blame son

A man who pressured his 14-year-old son to take the blame for a murder he committed has been jailed for at least 26 years.

Matthew Moseley, 50, shot Lee Holt, 32, dead before he handedthefirearmtosonthomas and told him to tell police he was the one who pulled the trigger at their home in Lancashire, last October.

Thomas made the fake confession and his father stayed silent as the teenager was arrested. The teenager later changed his account of the incident in Barnard Close, Oswaldtwistle, and told police that his father was in fact the shooter but the defendant maintained his innocence.

Last week Moseley was found guilty of murder at Preston Crown Court following a three-week trial. On Tuesday he was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 26 years.

Mr Holt went to Barnard Close with his partner and son to confront Thomas over an ongoing dispute between the two schoolboys. Matthew Moseley opened the front door after he had loaded a Beretta shotgun, and blasted Mr Holt once in chest, court heard.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Bryan told the defendant: “How any father could do that to their son is difficult enough to comprehend but what is truly incomprehensible is the cynical way in which you sought to manipulate, and pressurise, your son into accepting responsibility.”