The investigation into Rhys Jones' murder

Dec 17 2008 by Liza Williams, Liverpool Daily Post

Liza Williams looks at the key breakthroughs in the investigation which brought Rhys Jones’s killer to justice, including an unprecedented immunity deal and the use of undercover listening devices

MERSEYSIDE Police had no direct evidence to convict Sean Mercer of Rhys Jones’s murder. Instead they spent months building up a watertight circumstantial case, which involved probe technology, a pioneering immunity deal and reams of witness statements.

For eight months speculation about Rhys Jones’s murder was mounting within the Croxteth community.

Sean Mercer’s name had been painted on walls and posted on internet sites, but police remained tight-lipped about his involvement in the murder.

But behind the scenes 40 detectives and 200 officers each day were building what Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly says is the most challenging case of his 30 year career.

The senior investigating officer believed Sean Mercer was responsible within a week of his name being linked to the crime.

But without a witness pinning the 18-year-old to the Fir Tree Pub car park, police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had to gather huge amounts of circumstantial evidence to produce a compelling case.

Det Supt Kelly said: “We knew it was going to be a complex investigation and we were in for the long haul – patience was needed.

“Sean Mercer’s name was banded around from very early on and there was expectation we should arrest and charge him.

“Truthfully I thought it was him within a week, but I have a duty to prove it.”

Police and the CPS say several key breakthroughs were paramount in the case, including evidence gathered from listening probe technology, the recovery of the murder weapon in September 2007 and the discovery of Mercer’s bike, with DNA linking him to it.

Prosecutor Helen Morris says the investigation had to reach a “tipping point” in order for her to recommend the offenders were charged.

She says this came in April, when an immunity deal was brokered with the investigation’s key witness, known in court as Boy C – the only time in Britain such a step has been taken with a minor.

The murder weapon, a 1915 Smith and Wesson .455 revolver, was found hidden in the loft of the 16-year-old’s house, during a police search on September 30, 2007.