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A dad was tortured to death in one of the most brutal killings Liverpool has ever seen over a missing cannabis delivery.
A wannabe gangsta rapper and a “monster” torturer were among five killers who left 54-year-old Joseph McKeever dead from injuries that a pathologist said were the worse they had ever seen They interrogated the father-of-one over £900,000 of missing cannabis after a drug importation went wrong, but when the thugs didn’t get the answers they wanted, his sick killers subjected him to “nothing less than torture”.
Police discovered his battered body in the boot of a stolen Ford Focus, set ablaze on wasteland in Everton. McKeever, from Walton, had suffered two shattered kneecaps, broken eye sockets, brain damage, a crushed voice box and was strangled at least twice with a ligature.
His body was found in a burnt out car
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The root cause of the torture could be traced back to a cannabis seizure in East Sussex. A lorry, which purported to be carrying vegetable produce, was stopped and 150 kilos of Spanish cannabis was found in vacuum packed bags. Liverpool Crown Court heard the cannabis was imported by McKeever and a business partner, James ‘Jimmy’ Doyle, who provided transport and logistics.
The intended customers were two men: crack cocaine and ecstasy dealer Lee Knox, then 40, and a young mechanic, then 21-year-old Jamie Grimes. For around a year, the two friends had been involved in the wholesale supply of cannabis in Merseyside.
Across three separate trials, five people were found guilty of killing McKeever. Grimes, then 21 and of Anfield, was found guilty of murder at the first trial in February 2018. He admitted false imprisonment but denied murder. He told the court he and his business associate Knox struck a deal with McKeever for the victim to import 50kg of cannabis from Spain.
Jamie Grimes
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Grimes told a trial he had repeatedly punched McKeever and tied him up after he was patronising to him when asked about the missing load. CCTV showed Grimes collecting a tool and strapping after the victim was detained, gathering plastic sheeting and clearing out a van to transport him, which he reversed up to the container, then ensuring a faulty rear light was fixed, so they wouldn’t be stopped by the police.
It wasn’t suggested Grimes was involved in any violence at the flat, but after McKeever died he returned to the garage and cleaned the container with oil, then tried to wipe CCTV footage, but failed.
Karl Kelly
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Liverpool Echoi WS)
Karl Kelly, then 32, was found guilty of false imprisonment and manslaughter at the first trial. Kelly suggested he was a mere “street dealer” and did not have any knowledge of the “missing load”. The court heard Kelly led “a very expensive and rich life” and “travelled an enormous amount”, holidaying while on police bail.
He claimed he only made “a couple of hundred pounds” a week from selling cannabis, but bought designer clothes from “a contact in Italy” and sold them on Instagram, which could rake in up to £10,000 a month.
Justice Davis said Kelly was a liar, who was clearly recruited to provide somewhere for McKeever to be held, because Knox wouldn’t have called him to the garage to buy a small amount of cannabis. The judge said Kelly helped dispose of McKeever’s body, then ditched one of his mobile phones and lied to police about not being aware of any death at the flat. Kelly was jailed for 22 years.
Darren Colecozy
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Darren Colecozy was a rapper who had made around 25 music videos under the name ‘Capz’. He was found guilty of false imprisonment and manslaughter at the first trial. Colecozy had been a promising footballer, who starred for Liverpool Schoolboys and was a youth player for Tranmere Rovers FC. But he was also responsible for “cowardly” bullying of an ex-girlfriend and threats against her gran, which led to a string of convictions.
The Manchester-born musician claimed Kelly brought McKeever to his sparsely furnished flat – which he denied was a drugs den – without his consent. Colecozy and Kelly both donned gloves to extensively clean the flat after the victim died. Police later found the victim’s blood on kitchen walls, a microwave and on a mattress, which had seemingly been doused in petrol, in the living room.
The judge said: “They did nothing to help Mr McKeever. Why would they if they were simply making sure he did not do anything?” He said neither man was too scared and they both encouraged Knox and Wales in their attack. He said: “They were responsible for the dreadful way in which Mr McKeever’s body was removed from the flat.”
Colecozy was jailed for 22 years.
Anthony Wales
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Merseyside Police)
Anthony Wales pleaded guilty to the murder and false imprisonment of McKeever at a second trial in January 2019. Wales, then 37, from Everton, was one of the men who inflicted horrific injuries on McKeever in the container. Knox branded Wales a “monster” and said he set upon the victim without any warning, punching him repeatedly and tying him up, then later beating his legs with a metal bar fetched by Grimes, and kicking him in the head.
The dad-of-five made no comment to all questions and was not initially charged. However, after hearing the prosecution opening and seeing the evidence against him, he decided to plead guilty. Justice Davis said Wales was recruited by others in “full knowledge” of what was to happen and took part in “ruthless” torture. He was jailed for life with a minimum of 24 years.
Lee Knox
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Liverpool Echo)
Lee Knox spent nearly three years on the run. He was found guilty of murder and false imprisonment at a third trial in January 2021. Prosecutors said Knox orchestrated the savage demise of McKeever. The then 43-year-old, formerly of Canal View, Melling, escaped to Spain within hours of the killing and spent three years at large.
He was finally arrested in Belfast on April 25, 2020, where he had been living under the false name of Oliver Kennedy. Crying in court, he claimed he was a “terrified” witness to the violence and fought to save McKeever’s life by giving him CPR. The dad-of-two insisted he was “terrorised” alongside his “good friend” by cocaine-snorting Wales and fled the UK in fear.
The self-confessed cannabis dealer said he worked for McKeever and Doyle, who were importing 150 kilos of the drug, and was to be paid £5,000 when it was delivered. Knox drove with the victim to MGM Garage and spent a total of three hours and eight minutes in the container with him, then accompanied McKeever to the flat.
He said he thought they were going in the container to talk, adding: “I was going to make everyone a cup of tea.” Knox put the blame on “monster” Wales and said he believed his friend Grimes was wrongly convicted. He said he didn’t go to police because his family would be at risk. Knox said: “I’m sorry I ran away, I’m sorry I never contacted the police, at that time I wasn’t thinking clearly, I had been through a night of hell, I had been terrorised along with Joseph.”
But the jury rejected his account and Judge Andrew Menary KC said Knox was responsible for the “merciless beating”. Knox was jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years.
Dylan Owen, then 23, was charged over the killing of McKeever, but was found not guilty of false imprisonment, murder or manslaughter. The civil engineer, of Kensington, Liverpool, was however convicted for his role in setting fire to McKeever’s black Renault Megane and murderer Grimes’ Citroen Nemo van in the wake of the killing.
Justice Davis said: “He did all of that knowing full well the purpose was to cover up a murder in which his friend was involved.” The judge said he destroyed two vehicles “of considerable significance” to the murder and “went to some trouble to do so”. Owen was jailed for six years.
“}]] Joseph McKeever was left with horror injuries the pathologist examining his body said were the worse he’d ever seen in his entire career. The dad-of-one was found in a burnt out car boot Read More
