Jury told of callous killing of man eating his dinner

May 1 2008 by Chloe Griffiths, Liverpool Daily Post

Murdered Liverpool gang figure Michael 'Mikey' Wright (158)

A FATHER-OF TWO was gunned down in “cold-blood” as he sat in his car eating a takeaway, a murder jury has heard.

Michael Wright was shot three times in the head as he sat in his car near the KFC restaurant at Stonedale Retail Park.

He died in hospital hours later.

David Hibbs-Turner, Mark Richardson, Philip Woolley and Paul Hollands all deny his murder at their trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Yesterday, Timothy Holroyde, QC, prosecuting, told the jury it was Hibbs-Turner, 28, of Sherwoods Lane, Fazakerley, who had ordered the killing.

He said: “It was cold-blooded murder, with three shots fired from a revolver at close range, aimed at the head.

“It is the prosecution case that all four defendants are guilty of that murder. It was carried out on the instruction of the defendant, Hibbs-Turner.”

Mr Holroyde said there was “no love lost” between the two men after Mr Wright’s former girlfriend, Jennifer Tasker, the mother of his child, had started dating Hibbs-Turner.

He told the jury at about 7.37pm on December 8, 2006, the night of Mr Wright’s murder, two of Hibbs-Turner’s closest associates, his next-door neighbour Richardson, 24, and Hollands, 19, of Portlemouth Road, Croxteth, had spotted Mr Wright as he drove to the retail park in his distinctive blue Volkswagen Golf.

They circled the car park watching him and his companion Gary Wilson get food and park up, while alerting Hibbs-Turner, who in turn is alleged to have rung Woolley, 19, of Roderick Road, Walton, and ordered the killing.

A series of calls, allegedly to arrange the shooting, were recorded between the men's mobile phones.

Minutes later, Woolley and another man, who is not standing trial, got into a black Skoda and drove to the KFC, catching the attention of plain-clothed police officers in an unmarked police car.

They followed the car into the KFC and waited for it to pull out.

But Mr Holroyde said: “Before they could do anything, the officers heard gun shots and saw a man running back to the Skoda.” He got into the passenger seat.

“The Skoda then sped off, colliding with a parked car.”

It is claimed the men went to the car park “for the express purpose of murder.”

The case continues.