A revenge plot in Merseyside led to the deaths of three people and resulted in four individuals being imprisoned. Steven Wales, 61, was the last of the four to be sentenced on Wednesday, August 26, for disposing of the body of 40-year-old Paul Smith, known as Smigger, in a bin in Everton on July 22 last year. Smith had died from a drug overdose in his bath.
Body dumped in bin after overdose
Wales was jailed for two years and four months at Liverpool Crown Court after the court heard he found Mr Smith’s body in his bath and moved it to a bin, which he hid behind derelict houses. Sentencing him, Judge Neil Flewitt said: “Although the cause of his death has been established as mixed drug toxicity, the precise circumstances of his death are uncertain. The information available to me is entirely dependent on your account which, I have to say, raises as many questions as it answers, not least how a 61-year-old man with COPD was able to move that body from the bath and flat into a wheelie bin.”
Smith was found dead seven days after starting a fire at the home of Sheila Jackson, 83, and her partner Eric Greener, 77, in St Helens. The couple were rescued from the blaze but died in hospital from burns and smoke inhalation. Another man, Lee Owens, admitted acting as a lookout during the arson attack. Kevin Weetman devised the plot in revenge and gave orders for Smith, whom he had previously assaulted, to start the fire over a drug dispute with Mrs Jackson's son George, who lived at the same address but was not present at the time. A third defendant, Kylie Maynard, was described as Weetman's "trusted lieutenant" in hatching the plot.
Arson plot details revealed in court
All three were cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter. After the verdicts, Weetman laughed in front of the victims' family in court. Nigel Power KC, prosecuting, told the jury during the trial: "At about just after half past midnight on Tuesday the 15th of July last year, Paul Smith and Lee Owens set fire to a house, 44 South John Street in St Helens. Inside the address at that time were Mary Sheila Jackson, known to all as Sheila, and her partner Peter Eric Greener, known to everybody as Eric."
"The alarm went up. Firefighters and paramedics went to the scene. They were able to rescue Eric and Sheila from the blaze, but they were unable to recover from the injuries they sustained in the fire and died within days."
"While it does not matter in law, Eric and Sheila were not the intended victims of the blaze. About a month earlier, Kevin Weetman and Kylie Maynard had attempted to trick George Jackson, Sheila's son, into working for Mr Weetman as a drug dealer."
Mr Jackson had helped Ms Maynard after she was robbed of drugs. He took her to his home, where she washed, ate, and slept. She knew where he lived and who he lived with. A few days later, Mr Weetman gave Mr Jackson half an ounce of cocaine, initially described as a gift. Mr Jackson declined the offer to deal drugs, and when he declined again, the mood changed. Mr Weetman started asking where his "dough" was for the drugs.
Sentences handed down
Weetman was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years. Maynard received 23 years, and Owens was jailed for 13-and-a-half years, with both required to serve two-thirds of their terms before release. Sentencing Weetman, High Court judge Mr Justice Jay said: "In your sordid and brutal way, you have been a successful drug dealer over many years. You exert your rule with fists and iron bars. You have an appalling criminal record."
"You are a man with an entirely warped moral code. You feel no remorse for what you did. After the verdict, you smiled and laughed inappropriately in full sight of the victims' family."
"I infer that your intention was to burn out George Jackson as a punishment for him not doing your bidding. This arson was entirely your idea. You initiated Paul Smith into committing it, having brutally assaulted him. You knew that Kyle Maynard would act as your loyal subordinate in making the arrangements."
Wales admitted one count of preventing a lawful and decent burial during an earlier hearing. He showed no reaction as he was jailed for 28 months. Sentencing, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: "In recent years, he had struggled with an addiction to class A drugs and, in the period before his death, was living what has been described as a chaotic lifestyle."
"Your failure to alert the emergency services, or indeed anyone, to what happened meant that he was lying in that wheelie bin for getting on for two days. In that period, his family, who had reported him as missing, were beside themselves with worry."
