Two teenagers guilty of 'shocking' murder of vulnerable man in Eccles

Two teenagers have been found guilty of murdering a vulnerable man who was brutally stabbed to death after his home was 'cuckooed'.Leigh Smith, 48, was knifed seven times and bled to death at his flat in Eccles, Salford, on 22 June last year.Drug dealer Jacob Cookson, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were unanimously convicted of murder.Another 17-year-old boy was found not guilty following a trial at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.

The court heard how Mr Smith, who was deemed vulnerable, had moved into a new assisted living flat in Eccles, when he became a victim of 'cuckooing' by a group of organised crime group members from the Salford area.

The term is used when drug dealers take over someone's home to store or pack drugs for onward sale.

The prosecution said the killing was fuelled by revenge after Cookson had been attacked by another man in Mr Smith's house days earlier.

His flat was one of a number which Cookson had taken control of to use for his dealing, the court heard.Mr Smith had battled drug addiction, and although he had found new accommodation and things seemed to be 'looking up' for him, he had recently started using drugs again.

He also appeared to be selling drugs on behalf of two dealers to fund his habit, jurors were told.Almost a week before he was found dead, Mr Smith was in his flat with a friend, who was smoking crack cocaine, which Cookson had sold him.Cookson had an argument with the man and was 'violently assaulted' by him, leaving him needing hospital treatment after being hit over the head with a radio.He went to Salford Royal Hospital covered in blood. On the same day, Mr Smith was also attacked.

In a text message to a friend, Mr Smith said: "I've just been done in really bad with a hammer."

Mr Smith told a housing officer who had helped him get his new flat about the first attack. She alerted police, who went to check on him.

Mr Smith refused to co-operate with police and told them that their visit was 'gonna get me killed'.He did not name his attackers but said 'Salford gangsters who he had been in trouble with had access to firearms'.While the officers were at his house, he received a call. Mr Smith told the cops: "It’s him. He knows you’re here."He asked police to leave, and he refused to help when they came back the next day.CCTV footage recovered on 21 June showed the defendants, and another man who has not been identified, heading towards Mr Smith's flat on Cook Street.About two minutes later, the same group was seen running away from the flats.

The next morning, at around 7am, a neighbour saw the door to Mr Smith's flat was ajar.He was found lying in a pool of blood on his living room floor after being stabbed seven times to his legs and buttocks. Cookson and the 17-year-old boy had denied murder.They are due to be sentenced next week.