Gangland hitman guilty of double murder

A GANGLAND hitman is facing life behind bars after being convicted of the double murder of a mob enforcer and an underworld Mr Big.

Mark Fellows, 38, nicknamed The Iceman, murdered Salford mobster Paul Massey with an Uzi machine gun outside his home in the city in July 2015.

Massey, 55, a notorious “Mr Big” crime figure in Salford and beyond, was blasted at as he dived for cover behind bins, a jury heard during a seven-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

After being shot five times, he died within minutes.

Three years later, Massey’s friend and gang associate, John Kinsella, 53, a martial arts expert and mob enforcer from Liverpool, was murdered by Fellows in a second “cold-blooded” execution.

Kinsella, whose help footballer Steven Gerrard called on to scare off a Liverpool gangster, was walking his dogs with his pregnant partner, Wendy Owen, near their home in Rainhill, Merseyside, on May 5 last year.

On both occasions his co-accused and “brother in arms” Steven Boyle, 36, had allegedly acted as spotter to ensure the planned victims were in place and to act as back-up, waiting nearby, if needed, which he denied.

Both victims, “notorious” heavy criminals in gangland Manchester and Merseyside, were murdered as a result of a deadly feud between rival gangs in Salford – the A-Team, linked to the victims and a splinter faction the defendants were with.

Fellows was convicted of both murders. Boyle was found guilty of the murder of Kinsella, but cleared of the murder of Massey. They will be sentenced today.