A JUDGE has jailed two of the three people who helped the killers of Carlisle man Ryan Kirkpatrick flee the country after he was fatally stabbed outside a city centre bar in front of horrified onlookers.
Kane Hull, 29, and Liam Porter, 33, are serving life sentences for the brutal killing on September 18 last year.
Ross Neville, 32, Olivia Memmory, 23, and Michael Celmins, 32, had all admitted assisting an offender - charges which were brought after the trio helped the killers in the days and weeks after the murder.
Hull and Porter went on the run, helped by the three defendants who offered practical support, taking on tasks such as providing accommodation, transport, and other forms of help that allowed the killers to flee the country.
Mr Kirkpatrick, 24, suffered fatal stab wounds after Hull and Porter, their faces hidden by masks, confronted him at Caryle's Court. Supported by Porter, Hull wielded the knife, stabbing his unarmed victim.
Hull had been intent on revenge, having been jailed for an earlier attack on Mr Kirkpatrick in a Carlisle betting shop.
All three defendants sentenced today impeded the progress of the murder investigation - and Mr Kirkpatrick's funeral - by helping the killers. Hull and Porter were eventually extradited from the Republic of Ireland, where they were in hiding, and found guilty of murder after a trial.
The trio each admitted assisting an offender. Memmory, of Cummersdale, was jailed for 19 months; Celmins, of Irthington, Carlisle, was jailed for 12 months.
Neville, of Canonbie, Dumfries and Galloway, was given a one-year community payback order, which includes 200 hours unpaid work. He was fined £12,000 and given a six-month curfew as punishment.
Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Bird was the senior investigating officer overseeing the case.
Speaking after the sentencing, he said: “We knew as we pursued Hull and Porter that there were people helping them in their attempt to evade justice.
“There is no doubt this assistance added to the grief and extreme distress already experienced by Mr Kirkpatrick’s loved ones after his tragic death."
Victoria Agulló, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West said: “The CPS worked with Cumbria police to build a strong case, including producing CCTV, phone messages and phone location data.
"The strength of the evidence led to all three accepting the part they played in assisting Hull and Porter to evade justice.
“Without the assistance provided by Neville, Celmins and Memmory, Hull and Porter may well have been arrested sooner.
“The CPS takes assisting offenders very seriously and will robustly prosecute those who help others to evade justice.”
* For a more detailed report of today's hearing, see tomorrow's News & Star
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