A remorseless convicted murderer killed a vulnerable woman because he 'grew tired' of her and wanted to get rid of her, a court has heard. David Taylor, 64, was handed a life sentence for the murder of Alisha Apostoloff-Boyrin, who was reported missing by her family in February 2022.
The Sinister Details of the Murder
While maintaining his innocence in prison, Taylor asked to speak to detectives about the case. In the interview room, he launched an attack, suddenly producing an improvised weapon and stabbing Detective Constable Darren Bratby of Greater Manchester Police in the chest. DC Bratby spent four days in hospital but recovered. After being transferred to HMP Wakefield, Taylor then joined forces with fellow killers Mark 'The Iceman' Fellows and Lee Newell to target child killer Kyle Bevan, 33.
The trio were caught on CCTV entering Bevan's cell one by one. About five minutes later, they re-emerged. Bevan was only discovered the next morning, after his body had been convincingly placed in his bed to look as though he was asleep.
Taylor, Fellows and Newell were all found guilty of murder following a trial at Leeds Crown Court. Taylor was previously convicted after a trial at Manchester Crown Court in December last year for the attempted murder of DC Bratby, and then pleaded guilty to murdering Alisha at a hearing at the same court on February 16 this year. Reporting restrictions were imposed prohibiting reporting on those two cases until the conclusion of his case in Leeds.
Taylor 'Grew Tired' of Alisha
On Friday, June 19, prosecutor Jason Pitter KC outlined the case regarding the disappearance of Alisha Apostoloff-Boyrin, whose body has never been recovered. He said the last person to see her alive was Taylor. 'She was somebody who, at the time of her disappearance was 24, was living with her grandfather in the Ashton area,' Mr Pitter said. 'Her extended family describe her as somebody who was vulnerable, alcohol dependent, suffering from depression and paranoia. As a result the prosecution say she is somebody described as being a vulnerable person. She befriended people in order to get accommodation and sometimes alcohol. The defendant is one such person towards the end of 2021.'
Mr Pitter said she was a visitor at Taylor's house in Durham, and travelled with him in Derbyshire. 'During the course of their association, it was apparent from messages they were intimate but not fully in a relationship. The messages suggested he had perhaps grown tired of her towards the end of January and did not want her company, and was considering ways he wanted to get rid of her. She was last seen on footage in January 2023.'
On 2 February 2022, Alisha was reported as a missing person by her grandmother, who had not seen or heard from Alisha for a couple of weeks. Initial police enquiries found that Alisha appeared to travel from Manchester to Durham and then back to Manchester. Alisha was last seen travelling in a Volkswagen Passat with Taylor. They had been together for a number of days at that point, Greater Manchester Police said.
Alisha was first picked up by Taylor on 14 January 2022, where they travelled to Durham, before heading to Chapel-en-le-frith campsite and then back to Durham on 20 January. Taylor and Alisha travelled back to Chapel-en-le-Frith on 22 January 2022 in the same vehicle. Taylor was arrested and interviewed in relation to her death, though maintained not knowing where she was and caused police to look elsewhere. Her body has never been recovered and she is believed to be dead, the court was told.
'The defendants pleas of guilty in February this year confirms that. She has never been recovered and nothing more can be said about that,' Mr Pitter said.
Attack on Detective
Mr Pitter told the court that Taylor was interviewed in relation to the investigation after he requested to speak to the police whilst on remand at HMP Frankland. 'This was on the premise he had information to provide to police about the disappearance,' Mr Pitter said. 'This was regarding him being innocent and her being alive and elsewhere. During the course of the interview Taylor used an improvised weapon concealed in his waistband, and used it to stab into the chest of the detective near his heart. He said his behaviour was because he had been set up by police in relation to Alisha. His approach was that he was innocent, and his actions were to stab the police officer.'
The court heard that the officer was hospitalised for a number of days and suffered injuries including a collapsed lung. Taylor was convicted after trial in December 2025.
'She Was Such a Lovely Girl'
In a victim impact statement, Rachel Lockley, the aunt of Alisha, said: 'She grew up in Ashton with her family. Her mum passed away when she was very young and she went to live with her grandfather, Paul. She then relocated to live with her grandmother. She was such a lovely girl, she was giddy and caring. She was also shy and suffered with anxiety and low confidence – this made her, we feel, vulnerable. She would give me hugs and tell me she loved me. She always seemed delicate and younger than her actual age, and you could put her as someone in her teens rather than her 20s.'
Regarding the investigation, she said: 'What is awful is we still can't get closure. We cannot get her body home. You can only imagine the unlawful things he must have done to her. We as a family are traumatised to think that she trusted David Taylor. We want to give her the dignity of a burial. One of the last messages I had from her in January 2022 was that she was bidding to get a house and seemed positive about it. She told me she wanted to live in Ashton. She wanted to be near her grandmother and just wanted to be part of her family and belong. She was a loving and kind granddaughter and niece and we will miss her so much.'
In a further statement, another member of Alisha's family, Teresa Robinson, said: 'David Taylor took advantage, preyed on and led her to her death. This man knows where she is and if he has any remorse, he would tell us so we can bring her home and put her to rest.'
Judge's Remarks
Addressing Taylor, the judge, Mrs Justice McGowan said: 'You had formed a relationship with a very young woman in 2021. She was vulnerable, she lived with her grandfather most of the time. By the end of January 2022 you had tired of her and tried to end the relationship. She was a vulnerable victim, alcohol dependent, at 24 she looked like a teenager. She was more than 30 years younger than you. You took steps to conceal the fact of her disappearance, you never told authorities where she was.'
Regarding the attempted murder of the police officer DC Bratby, she said: 'You asked to speak to a police officer and said you could help the investigation – the purpose was to carry out the attack. You stabbed him in the area of his heart, he was badly injured but fortunately survived. You said you did it because you had been set up for the murder of Alisha. You were later to plead guilty to that murder.'
Taylor, who was sentenced alongside Fellows and Newell for the murder of Kyle Bevan, was handed life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 20 years for the murder of Alisha Apostoloff-Boyrin. He was handed 30 years imprisonment for the attempted murder of DC Bratby.
Police Statement
Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Naismith, from GMP's Major Investigation Team, said: 'First and foremost, our thoughts go out to Alisha's family and friends for what they have been put through, and continue to go through, with their loss of Alisha. We have sadly never recovered her body and there is one person who knows where she is. Ensuring that Alisha receives a dignified and proper burial is something that we will continue to do our best to achieve.'
'As part of that investigation, Taylor deliberately lured our officers into speaking with him, claiming he had information on Alisha's whereabouts. This was nothing more than a sinister ploy to attack them. We are very fortunate that our officer did not lose his life during this vile attack, and it is testament to his bravery that he was able to still discharge his duties and ensure that Taylor was subdued.'
'Every single day officers across the country put their lives at risk for the public, sacrificing so much as part of their work. It is not something that should ever be normalised, nor forgotten. Following today's result, Taylor has now been convicted of three heinous crimes and will be behind bars for the rest of his life. While the court proceedings for these three investigations have concluded, we are still actively appealing for information as we seek to provide Alisha with a dignified burial. I would urge anyone with any amount of information – whether it's big or small – to please get in touch with us.'
Superintendent Chris Smiles, of Durham Constabulary, said: 'Taylor is an extremely violent offender and his attack on a police officer who was simply trying to uncover the truth about what happened to Alisha and get justice for her family – was totally unacceptable. It is a testament to the bravery of the officer who despite having been stabbed in the chest was still able to restrain him. Officers should be able to serve and protect the public without being attacked. Thankfully, Taylor is now facing the consequences of what he has done. Our thoughts go out to all those affected by his despicable actions.'
