Trio who helped Ryan Kirkpatrick's killers sentenced

Three people who helped Ryan Kirkpatrick's killers flee the UK after he was brutally stabbed to death in Carlisle, have been sentenced.

The city’s crown court heard how Kane Hull and Liam Porter were assisted by friends as they took steps to evade police after Mr Kirkpatrick, 24, was stabbed at Carlyle’s Court on 18 September 2021.

Hull, 29, stabbed Mr Kirkpatrick outside a city bar in front of his friends in what a judge said amounted to an "execution" amid a background of bad blood. Porter, 33, provided help and encouragement.

Hull and Porter were handed life prison sentences for murder in October. They were ordered to spend a minimum of 28 and 26 years, respectively, behind bars.

A getaway Volvo car was found burned out close to the north Cumbria coast before Mr Kirkpatrick had even been pronounced dead, as Hull and Porter sought to avoid capture and cover their tracks. 

Prosecutor Tim Evans told Carlisle Crown Court: "These steps involved changing their phones, checking into new addresses, acquiring different vehicles and, on 22 September 2021, travelling first to Northern Ireland via ferry."

In the hours after the murder, Ross Henry Neville, 32, transported Kane Hull and Liam Porter away from the city and was caught on CCTV at his own address as he housed the pair.

Police unearthed a string of phone calls between businessman Neville and Hull just minutes after the killing.

Neville’s white Toyota Land Cruiser, with personalised plates, was then captured in the Smithfield area at the same time as a witness saw a burning object being tossed into a field from what he described as a "white Shogun-type" vehicle at around midnight which then sped off.

Shortly after midnight, the vehicle was caught on CCTV footage from Neville’s own property returning to his house in Canonbie as he, Hull and Porter got out of the Toyota.

Neville, who deals in commercial vehicles, went with Hull to Newcastle and back on 19 September, and then to acquire an Audi from Carlisle’s Kingmoor industrial estate.

Michael Karl Celmins, 33, later drove to an Alston hotel to provide Hull with a stolen Skoda Roomster vehicle sourced from Manchester and also took away the Audi. Bearing false plates, the Audi was later found parked outside his girlfriend’s house.

Olivia Brooke Memmory, 23, arranged and booked accommodation for Hull and Porter. She was seen with the killers in the days afterwards, including on CCTV in Langholm.

Memmory then used false names as she booked two hotels in Alston; the Five Corners Guest Inn in Ballyclare where a staff member noted she "appeared confident and pleasant"; Belfast’s Etap hotel; and finally remote Grandad’s Place in Carracastle, County Mayo, as they travelled to the Republic of Ireland.

Phone evidence pointed to Memmory discussing what the prosecution suggested were sleeping arrangements with the two killers.

"Think I’ll be wearing my fluffy jammas if I’m in with use 2 x," one message read. Messages, said Mr Evans, suggested there was "some sort of intimate relationship" between her and Hull.

Memmory was arrested on 28 September as she drove the Skoda on the A7 towards Canonbie. A boarding card and Stena Line receipts were found in her handbag.

The same day, Hull and Porter were arrested at Grandad’s Place as armed Irish police swooped on the bungalow. A shopping list found scribbled on the back of a microwave oven manual at the bungalow included "hair dye, glasses, hat/wig, mask".

Hull was found hiding in an attic and the pair were later extradited. Their time on the run caused extra distress for Mr Kirkpatrick’s family and friends, and led to his funeral being delayed.

In a statement read to the court, Ryan’s mother, Andrea Johnston said: "I do not understand why anyone helped and supported my son’s killers."

Neville, of Broadmeadows, Canonbie, admitted two charges of assisting an offender. This was on the basis that he suspected an offence had been committed on the night of 18 September, but did not realise it was murder until early the following day.

Memmory, of The Oval, Cummersdale, and Celmins, of Irthington, near Carlisle, each admitted one charge of assistingan offender.

Jason Pitter KC, for father-of-two Neville noted a gap in his offending history between 2012 and 2019 when he had built up a business which, the court heard, had a £300,000 operating profit last year.

Two employees had written to the court expressing concerns about their future if Neville was jailed. Mr Pitter said of the assisting an offending offence: "But for Mr Hull, he would not be in this position."

Rosalind Emsley-Smith, for Memmory, a woman of previous good character, said: "In my submission there is no doubt there is a significant imbalance of power as between Mr Hull and Miss Memmory."

Russell Davies, for Celmins, spoke of his "chaotic" lifestyle, adding: "He is bitterly regretful that he ever became involved."

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Linden told the trio of the killers: "They needed the others to escape. They enlisted the three of you."

Memmory and Celmins were jailed for 19 months and 12 months, respectively. Concluding there was a prospect of rehabilitation in Neville’s case, the judge imposed 200 hours’ unpaid work, a six-month night time curfew and a £12,000 fine.

As the sentences were handed down, Ms Johnston shouted from the public gallery before leaving court: "There is no justice in this world; no justice at all. Disgraceful."

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