How Cole’s killer thought he’d got away with murder
KHAYAM ALI KHURSHID FLED THE COUNTRY SOON AFTER THE SHOOTING OF A TEENAGE BOXER, BUT WAS TRACKED DOWN AND ARRESTED IN AMSTERDAM ON HIS WAY TO PAKISTAN
HOURS after teenage boxer Cole Kershaw was gunned down, Khayam Ali Khurshid’s desperate bid to escape justice was already under way.
Days later he would be surrounded by armed police, face-down on an Amsterdam street, hundreds of miles from home. He was even further from his attempted destination of Islamabad.
While police tried to piece together the events that led to Cole’s tragic death on August 12, Khurshid had a relative book him flights to the Pakistani capital.
First, the 29-year old had to reach a connection to Dubai - a journey he believed would take him beyond the reach of the law.
But as he boarded a Eurostar train to France, the net was closing in on Cole’s killers. Barely a week earlier, the apprentice scaffolder had been shot dead in Chesham Road, Bury.
On Friday, Khurshid and two other men, Kamran Mohammed, 20, and Mohammed Izaarh Khan, 21, were brought to justice, and found guilty of his murder.
Following a five-week trial at Manchester Crown Court, all three were also convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. They now face being sentenced to life in prison.
Following the shooting, Khurshid, Mohammed and Khan fled the scene in the BMW.
Several hours later, a phone call was made from Khurshid’s mobile phone to one of his sisters. The call was returned, but no further activity was ever recorded on his mobile.
After speaking to witnesses at the scene, detectives investigating Cole’s death quickly identified Khurshid and Mohammed as their main suspects.
But while a search was launched, Khurshid boarded the Eurostar to France before making his way to Amsterdam. On August 18, Khurshid’s sister booked him a flight from Amsterdam to Dubai, then on to Islamabad.
Detectives from GMP alerted Dutch police and armed officers were dispatched. Khurshid was arrested in central Amsterdam that same day.
He was extradited back to the UK on August 27.
Khurshid, of Eton Hill Road, Radcliffe; Mohammed, of Kingsdale Close, Bury; and Khan, of Palace Street, Bury, all denied murder, although Mohammed pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Raheem Hall, 19, of Hardfield Street, Heywood, was found not guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. He had previously admitted assisting an offender.
Judge Mrs Justice Yip will sentence all four men on April 16.