"Out the way, please." "Thank you." "Out the way." "Just follow Mark, please." "That's Mercer's mam and dad." "Separated now, but they're putting on a united front for their little treasure." "I'll have her when this is over for lying to us about his bike." "That is Yates' mam and dad." "On the back." "We've got them on tape trying to destroy the chip from his mobile." "I'll have them as well." "That's Yates." "Olssen." "Quinn." "Dean Kelly." "And that's him." "I can't believe how young he is." "Such a baby face." "He's just turned 18 now." "So the press can name him." " Did you see that?" " Yeah." "It is our contention that Sean Mercer intended to shoot someone that day." "Tragically, it was Rhys Jones who became the innocent victim of a long-running feud between rival gangs that were operating in and around the area of the Fir Tree public house." "After he fired and missed," "Mercer fired again." "This time, he hit Rhys, who went down in front of his eyes." "Immediately after he killed Rhys," "Mercer set about distancing himself from what he'd done." "Assisted by others, he disposed of the gun." "His clothes were destroyed and he was washed in petrol." "In this way, he was able to evade justice for many months adding to the unimaginable grief suffered by Rhys's mother and father," "Melanie and Steve, and brother, Owen." "The victim was four feet nine inches tall." "Average height for his age." "And well nourished." "There were small grazes and bruises around the knees consistent with playing football." "Bullet wounds to the right lower neck and back, the latter quite large in size and irregular." "The track passed through soft tissue and muscle, impacted left edge of lower neck, fracture to small protruding bones from sixth and seventh vertebrae continuing across the neck, largely destroying the windpipe." "Cause of death was the gunshot wound." "Contributing factors, the rupture of important blood vessels around the spinal column and disruption to the breathing mechanism." "You all right?" "Initially, I formed a view that the neck was the entry and the back the exit wound." "Entry wounds are small and discrete, and exit ones large and irregular." "I have been made aware of ballistic..." "Mel." "That's my son... he's talking about in there, the one whose windpipe was ruptured and, what was it, important blood vessels destroyed." "That's my little boy." "I know." "I can't..." "Take a moment." "Yeah..." "I was watching Emmerdale that Wednesday when" "Sean Mercer called to the house." "I answered the door." "Mercer went straight upstairs and then" "Dean went up after he'd finished his tea." "And then a bit later..." "I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and" "Dean and Sean went out." "What time was this, Mrs Kelly?" "Emmerdale was still on, so before 7:30." "And after they went out, when did you next see your son or Mercer?" "I went to bed about 12 o'clock and Dean still hadn't come back by then." "Thank you." "Mrs Kelly, how was your health in August of 2007?" "I had a drink problem at that time." "What sort of problem?" "I was drinking near enough every night... and day." "And had you been drinking that night?" "Yes." "So can you be sure that Sean Mercer arrived after Emmerdale had started?" "Well, I thought I'd watched the news before." "It is my client Sean Mercer's contention that he was at your house between approximately" "6:00pm and 9:00pm that evening." "So could not have been at the Fir Tree pub car park at 7:30 when Rhys Jones was shot." "So, can you be sure what time you say he arrived and left?" "Not 100% sure." "I was looking at the jury." "Quite a few young people, weren't there?" "I was thinking that." "Wondering if they'd sort of identify more" " with Mercer and Yates and that lot." " Yeah." "Didn't go very well today, did it?" "I suppose not, really." "Not as far as I could tell anyway." "Oh, well." "There's always tomorrow." "Come on." "First, we have a recording from the probe at the Yates household, a week after the shooting." "It's an exchange between Francis and Marie Yates." "I want to burn it." "It's the thing out the phone." "Here you are..." "Oh, it stinks, that." "Turn it round." "It's the gold thing on the chip you wanna burn." " I know." "I'll turn it round." " Go underneath it." "It's the thing burning, isn't it?" "The fucking chip." "That's on it, yeah." "Finished." "Makes no difference whether they find it or not now." "They'll never be able to trace it." "And then an exchange between James and Francis Yates." "There's one lad on a bike who's the gunman." "So there's one lad gonna get the blame." "No comment." "Do you think Sean's gonna sit there and say," ""James Yates gave me a... "" "No." "End of story." "I bought that three years ago." "End of story." "What?" "What can they prove?" "Nothing." "Can they, Dad?" "Thank you." "Professor French." ""Do you think Sean's going to sit there and say," "James Yates gave me a... ?"" "Then the next word is inaudible." "Then he answers his own question." ""No." "End of story." "I bought that three years ago." "End of story." "What?" "What can they prove?"" "Thank you." "In the transcript for that inaudible word, you inscribed three dots." "Why did you do that?" "Because I'm not confident enough to include anything there." "So you can't state with certainty what it is that James Yates bought three years ago?" "I have considered the missing word." "It contains one syllable." "The first consonant is a hard G." "Following it is a vowel, and it is a back vowel." "And then I'm not certain of the last consonant." ""Gun" with a Merseyside accent would have a back vowel." "But I cannot say specifically that it is, because I cannot detect an N." "So he might very well not be saying "gun"?" "I cannot exclude it being "gun"." "Mel." "We've just had a message through from the judge." "He said if you feel you are gonna be continually in tears, he'd rather you didn't come back into court any more." "You what?" "He said it's unfairly influencing the jury." "She can't help it if she gets upset." "I'm his mother." "And I have to listen to the most horrible things being said in there." "What about Mercer and the others messing about?" " Why doesn't he have a word with them?" " I'm sorry." "But that is what the judge has said." "We have to respect it." "There are two types of gunshot residue." "And on Rhys's clothing, we found type two." "So, on Rhys's clothing, type two." "Now, what type did you find on the barrel of the weapon which the police say was used to kill Rhys Jones?" "Type two." "So, type two from the clothing and the weapon labelled MAG1." "Now, what type did you find on the windows of the BMW parked in the Fir Tree pub car park, which the first bullet fired that night went through?" "Type one." "Type one?" "A different type." "How can you explain this?" "I can't, really." "But when we test fired the weapon, sometimes we retrieved type one residue and sometimes we got type two." "Could one explanation be that the police have got the wrong weapon?" "It's a possibility." "Mel." "Steve." "Can I have a word?" " Can you give us a minute?" " Yes." "I heard what the judge said earlier and I could tell you were still fuming." "Wouldn't you be?" "I'm not allowed to show any emotion?" "And yet they show total disrespect for everything?" "For Rhys?" "For us?" "For the court?" "I'm sure the judge has got a reason." "What reason can he have for picking on Mel?" "Think about it." "If you and Mel are models of decency and restraint, and he's still really hard on you, while they're behaving like a load of chimpanzees in a zoo." "And he's letting the jury see what they are doing..." "He's letting them show themselves up for what they are." "Exactly." "Yeah?" "Don't worry about it." "I'll see you tomorrow." "Big day." "Yeah." "See you." "What are they saying at school?" "Are they talking about it?" "Not really." "What does that mean, "not really"?" "It's just bullshit." " Do you have to swear?" " What's bullshit?" "It was just some... stuff." "On social media." "My mate showed me." "Said Mercer is never gonna get convicted." "Cos some of the witnesses have been got at." "But it's nonsense." " I know it is." " Yeah." "You were right the first time, Owen." "Bullshit." "Just bullshit." "Please take the book in your right hand and repeat out loud the words written on the card." "That's the mother of Jordan Olssen." " The one who said sorry to us?" " Yeah." "That's him." "He's refused to be in court today, because he said if she gets upset, he doesn't think he'll be able to cope with it." "Mrs Olssen, by the summer of 2007," "Jordan had not been out of the family home for quite some time, had he?" "Well, it was an incident when a shotgun was fired in 2006." "He told the police who he was with and he was called a grass." "And he was badly beaten up." "And from then on, he didn't leave the house for two years." "He stopped going to school." "And during that time, did Sean Mercer come to visit him?" "Sean knew that whatever the weather was like, hot sunshine, whatever," "Jordan would always be in." "But we hadn't seen Sean for quite some time... over a year, before the day the little boy got shot." "And do you remember Mercer visiting that evening?" "I was in the bath and I heard my mam open the door and Sean say, "You all right, Jan?"" "And then I heard him come upstairs." " At what time?" " Erm..." "Just after 7:30." "20, 25 minutes later  James Yates and Nathan Quinn turned up." "I was out of the bath drying my hair by then." "And I seen them come up the path." "Then about 20 minutes later, they all left." "Except for Jordan." "And they got in a people carrier parked outside my house." "And they drove off." "And you're certain that we're talking about the evening of Wednesday, 22nd of August of last year?" "Yeah." "I remember it because it was my day off and there was an England game in the evening." "Thank you, Mrs Olssen." "No further questions, my lord." "Mrs Olssen, you amended your statement to the police about the events at your house that night, did you not?" "I did, yeah." "And in that amended statement, you make it clear that you can't be sure whether these events took place on Wednesday 22nd or Tuesday 21st." "Is that right?" "That's correct." "And yet in court today under oath, you're now saying that you're certain they took place on Wednesday 22nd?" "The reason I said I might have my dates muddled is cos I came under a lot of pressure from certain people to change my statement." "They were all saying, just switch the dates." "My son came under a lot of pressure, too." "So you deliberately lied in your statement when you said you were unsure of the dates?" "Well, yeah, I did, but..." "I'm not unsure." "I knew very well what day those boys came to my house." "Now, I put it to you that you are lying now." "That you make things up in order to suit whatever situation you find yourself in." "I haven't made anything up today." "And as of now, cos of what I've said, certain people will call me a grass." "And I don't like that." "It makes my life harder where I live." "But, at the end of the day, all I have said is what happened." "What reason do I have to lie?" "What are we doing here, lad?" "He said what?" "Just stood there in the toilet like we're all mates." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Cos I knew how much it would upset you." "I don't know how you didn't batter him." "I would have done." " And what would that have achieved?" " It would have made me feel better." "All right?" "My lord, the next witness appears via video link." "The Crown calls Boy X." " Can you hear me clearly?" " Yeah." "I can hear you." "I want to take you back to the evening of August 22nd of last year." "Were you surprised to receive a call that night from Sean Mercer?" "It was out of the blue." "I sort of knew him from when we were kids but" "I didn't recognise the number." "He asked me to come to Blackley Close." "Why did you go?" "Just being contacted by him scared me." "If I'd refused, I would have expected me and my family would have come to serious harm." "What happened when you got to Blackley Close?" "Jordan Olssen took me upstairs and Sean Mercer gave me a red-and-white-striped plastic bag and told me to hide it." "I didn't have any choice." "What was in that bag?" "I could feel that it was a gun." "When I got home, I looked inside the bag and hid it in the dog kennel." "And later Dean Kelly came to the house, took it from the dog kennel and hid it in the loft." "Thank you." "Please remain where you are." "You're lying, here in the witness stand, aren't you?" "No, sir." "You've lied about your involvement in the murder of Rhys Jones to try and cover up the part you actually played and you are lying now to save your own skin." " Are you not?" " No, sir, I'm not lying." "When you took a taxi to Blackley Close that night, why did you give the taxi company a false address to pick you up from?" "I dunno." "I suppose I knew what Sean wanted me for was something bad." "And when the police raided your house and searched it, they found not only the revolver but a bag of ammunition." "I've no idea why there was a bag of ammunition up there, sir." "I can only think Dean Kelly put it up there without me knowing." "Dean Kelly?" "He seems to figure quite prominently in your explanation for things." "I put it to you... that you're blaming Dean Kelly in order to avoid admitting to the truth about your own involvement in the events that led to the murder of Rhys Jones." "That's not true." "What do you think of him?" "This kid?" "There's... holes in what he says." "But..." "I suppose he's brave for coming forward." "I don't know." "All we're saying to the jury is, believe this one but don't believe all the others." "To me, there's not much between them." "You said earlier that you had no connection to any gangs?" "That's right." "The jury has in front of them images printed off the hard drive of your computer." ""Fuck the police"." ""Do something good for the community, shoot a Nogga Dog."" ""Kevo, fuck the law, smoke some draw."" "And then Windows Messenger conversations about getting rid of guns, doing people, supplying weapons." "Loads of other people had access to my computer." "I've no knowledge of those conversations." "And the images?" "They're from my Piczo website." "You don't have to have a password before making an entry." "So it was somebody else who downloaded the Nogga Dog image?" "I remember finding that one myself." "I clicked on it, and when you click on it, you save it." "So you downloaded it?" "Why?" "If you have no interest in gangs, why would you want to save an image like this?" "I don't know." "I suppose I just thought I was being big or something." "Sorry." "My client Sean Mercer has not taken the witness stand, as is his right." "He's made this decision, because he believes there is no case to answer." "Because the prosecution has manifestly failed to prove that he was the gunman who killed Rhys Jones." "James Yates stands accused of supplying the gun which killed Rhys Jones." "We suggest the armourer was more likely to be Boy X, who turned prosecution witness and gained immunity from prosecution simply to save his own skin." "Time and again when cross-examined on why he had pictures and slogans on his computer, detailing, we suggest, his interest in gang warfare and guns, he could come up with no satisfactory answer." "It was horrible, Mum." "Nobody would believe me." "I'm so sorry." "Kevin..." "It's over now." "I am proud of you, Kevin." "They're coming back in." "So this is it?" "Yeah." " Are you OK?" "Come on." " Yeah, I'm fine." " Let's go." " Just get my coat." "Come on." "Will the defendants please stand?" "Will the foreman please stand?" "Have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed?" "We have." "Do you find the defendant Sean Mercer guilty or not guilty of murder?" "Guilty." "Do you find the defendant James Yates guilty or not guilty of possession of a firearm?" "Guilty." "Thank you." "Jesus." "All this for some fucking kid." "Oh, my..." "Shh." "Take no notice of him, he's not worth it." " Do you find the defendant Dean Kelly..." " Stay strong." "Stay strong." "... guilty or not guilty of assisting an offender?" "Guilty." "Do you find the defendant Nathan Quinn guilty or not guilty of assisting an offender?" "Guilty." "Since the senseless murder of Rhys Jones, his family have suffered untold grief and distress." "Nothing will bring Rhys back." "But we hope they will find some peace in the fact that justice has been done." "It's fair to say that Sean Mercer has shown no remorse whatsoever." "We only hope the verdict will bring home to him the enormity of what he has done  and the pain and suffering he has caused." "Thank you." "Hello!" " Hiya." " Hiya." " How are you doing, love?" " Fine." "Yeah." "Just... just having a lie down." "What day is it?" "Come on." "Shower." "I just feel like I've got nothing left to live for any more." "You mustn't talk like that." "It's the truth." "At least with the investigation and the trial, we had  something to..." "look forward to, but  now even that's gone." "Now there's just nothing." "His empty bedroom upstairs..." "Have you talked to Steve again about moving?" "He won't even discuss it." "I think he thinks if we leave here, it  it'll be like we're abandoning Rhys." "I had a word at work about you going back." "They said if you just want to do an hour a day or something just to get back in the swing, is fine with them." "Why?" "Why go back to work?" "Because they thought it might help you, you know." "Start to feel a bit more normal." "I don't want to feel normal." "I can never remember, milk and... ?" "No sugar." "No sugar." "I'm sweet enough." "When are Jeanette Mercer and the Yates parents due in court?" "Next month." "It was right to go after all of them." "It sends out a message." "I just..." " pray they all saw it." " I am very grateful for the job you did, the way you led this investigation." "Thank you." "And so is the Chief." "And now that the dust has settled," "I thought it would be a good time to discuss what happens next." "OK." "You've done a terrific job... acting up as Detective Superintendent, which, as you know, was initially to cover annual leave." "Well, now that the investigation is over," "I need to let you know that after careful consideration... we won't be making the promotion permanent." "I know this must be disappointing for you, but as of next month, you will resume your previous rank of Detective Chief Inspector." "Thanks for letting me know." "But once again, I would like to place on record my thanks for the great job you did." "Thank you." "What's wrong?" "Steve..." "Take your coat off." "I'm moving out, Mel." "I've taken out a rental on a little flat." "I need some time on my own." "Sort my head out." "I can't handle it any more." "Sorry." "Do what you like." " Dave." " All right, Mel?" "Come in, come in." " What are you doing round here?" " Erm..." "I was just passing." "Owen's off at uni." "Did ever so well in his A levels." "I couldn't wish for a better son." "You look well." "How have you been?" "Well..." "Steve  Steve left me." "Announced one day that he'd rented a flat and needed some time by himself." "I don't blame him." "I'm sure I'd become impossible to live with." "I'm sorry about that." "I didn't have a clue." "Thanks, but... we're sort of starting to see each other again, you know." "He's round most weekends, takes Owen to the footie." "Maybe he'll come back." "I hope so." "Anyway... you look well too." "Retirement." "The missus has got me exercising." "Trying to keep my blood pressure down." "Is it working?" "Don't know." "I was stressed when I was in the job and now I'm stressed because I'm not." "Oh..." "I read about that in the paper." "Really sorry about what happened." "It's all right." "You know, the way I see it..." "I had an important job to do and I did it." "And anything else doesn't really matter." "Well, they've lost a bloody good police officer and more fool them." "Thanks." "It was after the trial, it all fell apart." "Everybody thought we'd get closure, but  it was entirely the opposite." "The thing is, Dave, I just..." "I just  I really miss him." "Hey." "It sounds so stupid." "No, it's not." "Everybody else can move on, except us." " I'm sorry, Dave." "I'm sorry." " Hey, don't be stupid." " I'm sorry." " Come here." "Come on." "Give me a hug." "It's OK." " I just miss him." " I know." "It's OK." " I'm good." " OK." "You go." "This is a... a box of tissues and a bag of Revels job." " Are you sure?" " Honestly." "You go." "OK." " Are you sure you'll be OK?" " Oh!" " And thanks for coming round." " That's all right." " All right, keep in touch." " I will." "You too." "You too." "You take care." "Ta-ra." "Bye." "All right?" "Hey!" "Here he is." "You all right?" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_"