GMP STATEMENT ON THE SENTENCING OF MARK FELLOWS FOR THE MURDER OF PAUL MASSEY

Mark Fellows (5/9/1980), of no fixed address, has today, Thursday 17 January 2019, been sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court to life imprisonment after being found guilty of the murders of Paul Massey and John Kinsella.

He has been given a whole life sentence, which means he will never be considered for release. There are only around 70 people in the UK currently serving whole life sentences, which reflects the severity of Fellows' crime.

His associate, Steven Boyle (18/12/1982), of Sandiway, Heywood, was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 33 years after being found guilty of the murder of John Kinsella.

On 26 July 2015, 55-year-old Paul Massey pulled up outside his home on Manchester Road in Clifton after visiting a local off-licence.

As he got out of his car, he was approached by Fellows who was dressed in camouflage clothing and carrying a sub-machine gun. Fellows opened fire and shot Paul Massey five times, with one of the bullets penetrating his heart.

He managed to call 999 as he lay injured on his driveway before he died a short time later.

A murder investigation was subsequently launched with officers from GMP’s Major Incident Team tasked with finding the gunman.

The investigation was built largely around telephony, CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).

The investigation team trawled through thousands of hours of data and took countless witness statements in an effort to identify and bring those responsible to justice.

Following the fatal shooting of 53-year-old John Kinsella in St Helens on 5 May 2018, detectives investigating Paul Massey’s murder contacted Merseyside Police to share information.

In the weeks that followed, a number of joint enquiries were carried out between the two forces and, as a result, Fellows was arrested in May 2018 on board an inbound flight at Manchester Airport. Boyle – who is believed to have known that police were looking for him - was arrested two days later at a hotel in Bolton.

Merseyside Police’s investigation confirmed that the pair had acted as gunman and spotter in the murder of John Kinsella, with Fellows being the one firing the fatal shots.

A subsequent search of Fellows’ address found a Garmin GPS watch which could be used to track and time routes. Analysis of this watch found that he had completed a dummy run to Paul Massey’s address months before the murder.

The route he had taken on the practice run was identical to the escape route used by the gunman immediately after the murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Carl Jones, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said:

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“This was a brutal assassination carried out by a callous gunman, who was part of a local organised crime group.

“It took place in broad daylight as residents were going about their daily business, which I think shows the brazen disregard Mark Fellows had for the safety of others.

“No matter what may have happened in his past, Paul Massey was a father and a grandfather who was callously murdered on his own doorstep, which is a fate that nobody deserves.

“His death left his family absolutely devastated and they continue to feel their loss to this day.

“Our enquiries revealed a meticulous plan put together in the preparation and execution of the murder.

“Fellows was an active member of a Salford organised crime group, who relied on their perceived notoriety causing law abiding members of the public to become reluctant in assisting police.

“In my experience, investigating crimes involving organised crime groups poses many obstacles. As a result, the knock on effect often leads to such investigations becoming lengthy and, subsequently, the communities we serve losing confidence in the police’s ability to tackle such criminality.

“I hope this investigation goes some way in reassuring our communities and clearly demonstrates our determination to identify and convict those involved in organised crime, no matter how much time passes.”