Cousins are found guilty of murder after decapitating father, 34
Cousins are found guilty of murder after decapitating and dismembering father, 34, before ‘chopping up’ his body with a Samurai sword, kitchen knives, hammer and electric saw and dumping it in a suitcase in park
- Ashley Walsh, 34, was found in suitcases in park after being ‘chopped up’
- He had a row with Aaron Evitt and Gerard McGlacken’s flat after going for a drink
- This was when Evitt hit him with hammer on head and McGlacken stabbed him
- They then decapitated and dismembered him before stuffing his remains in bags
- Evitt and McGlacken have been found guilty of murder and face life sentences
Two cousins have been found guilty of murder after a father was discovered ‘chopped up’ in suitcases in a park.
Aaron Evitt and Gerard McGlacken decapitated and dismembered their former friend Ashley Walsh, 34, after the ‘loving’ father had gone to have drink with the pair in Manchester.
There was a row at McGlacken’s flat in Collyhurst and Evitt hit Aaron over the head with a hammer in January 2022 as cocaine-fuelled McGlacken, 45, stabbed him.
McGlacken admitted brutally dismembering his friend – while his cousin claims he was ‘blacked out drunk’ – before stuffing his remains in bin bags and transferring them to Sandhills Park in four suitcases.
Evitt, 33, and McGlacken, who both pleaded guilty to preventing a lawful burial, were found guilty of murder and now face life sentences for the brutal killing.
The dismembered remains of 34-year-old Ashley Walsh (pictured) were recovered more than a week after he’d last been seen by his girlfriend
Mr Walsh, from Failsworth, Oldham, had been reported missing after he had last been seen by his girlfriend.
Suspicions were raised about Evitt and McGlacken after they were seen on CCTV with Mr Walsh’s dog Duke, as the pair were said to be ‘inseparable’. The two cousins were arrested and both charged with murder.
Manchester Crown Court heard his remains were only discovered after Evitt broke down in custody and told police: ‘It’s gone on too long. You’re going to need a van. I need to show you where he is.’
He led officers a week after the murder on Friday, January 7 to Sand Hills park in Collyhurst, a five minute walk away from McGlacken’s flat, on Kintore Walk.
A pathologist examined Mr Walsh’s remains following the shocking discovery.
A post mortem examination found that Mr Walsh had been ‘dismembered through the neck, central torso, both upper arms close to the shoulders, both upper thighs, and his left lower leg’.
Evitt told jurors that a fight had broken out in McGlacken’s flat after Mr Walsh said he had slept with his ex-girlfriend.
Ashley Walsh, 34, from Failsworth, Greater Manchester
He said the pair traded punches and claimed that Mr Walsh hit him with a hammer. Evitt said he’d punched Mr Walsh, and then armed himself with the hammer and hit him over the head with it causing him to collapse.
Evitt, who was ‘very drunk’, said he blacked out. He claimed that when he woke up Mr Walsh was no longer there.
At trial, McGlacken admitted ‘decapitating and dismembering’ Mr Walsh. He also admitted stabbing him but claimed he thought Mr Walsh was already dead when he knifed him.
Asked why he dismembered the body, McGlacken, who referred to Evitt as his nephew, said: ‘To dispose of it. I needed to get rid of it to protect my nephew.’
He explained the gruesome details of how he’d ‘chopped up’ Mr Walsh’s body using a samurai sword, kitchen knives, a hammer and an electric saw.
Evitt, of Brentnor Road, Moston, and McGlacken, of Kintore Walk, Collyhurst were both unanimously convicted of murder. They will be sentenced tomorrow.
Members of Mr Walsh’s family wore purple jumpers in his memory as the verdicts were delivered.
In a statement, they previously said: ‘Ashley, you have been tragically taken from us & our lives will never be the same.
‘He was a loving son, brother and father that was loved by so many and will be deeply missed. Rest in peace Ashley, you will be forever in our hearts.’
Source: Read Full Article