Judge sentences trio who helped Ryan's killers as raw emotion is felt

The 24-year-old died on September 18 last year after what Mr Justice Linden said was a “brutal, execution style” killing of the 24-year-old, who was unarmed when Kane Hull stabbed him outside a Carlisle bar in front of horrified onlookers.

He had no chance to defend himself.

Within an hour of the killing, 29-year-old Hull and his sidekick Liam Porter, 33, were destroying evidence and plotting their failed bid to escape justice.

They fled the country, travelling under false names to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, thanks to the help they were given by Michael Celmins and Ross Neville, both 32, and 23-year-old Olivia Memmory.

Memmory and Celmins were both jailed.

But it was after the judge allowed businessman Neville, from Canonbie, to walk free with a community order that includes a curfew and unpaid work that a woman in the public gallery protested loudly left the court.

Clearly distraught, she shouted: “There’s no justice. It’s disgraceful.” 

Then, turning towards the defendants in the dock, she added: “You’ve taunted me and my family since you’ve done this.”

The outburst came after a three-hour hearing which heard the details of how Memmory, Celmins, and Neville played a key role in supporting the two killers, who have at no point expressed remorse or sympathy for their victim.

Earlier in the hearing, the court heard about how each of the three defendants helped Hull and Porter in the days after the killing.

Memmory, who was said to have bought replacement clothes for the two men in Carlisle city centre, admitted booking "holiday" accommodation for the killers in Alston, Belfast and then the Republic of Ireland.

She said she thought the trips were a holiday, not a flight from justice. In a “secret relationship” with Hull, she claimed she believed his “protestations of innocence” after confronting him about the fatal stabbing.

Defence barrister Rosalind Emsley-Smith questioned the prosecution’s claim that Memmory was “not pressured” by Hull. There was indeed "a significant imbalance of power" between Hull and Memmory, said the barrister.

“On the one hand, you have a man with a history of violence; a criminally sophisticated individual; and on the other hand you have a young lady, with no previous experience of the court system or indeed criminality at all.”

It was only now, after 'proper reflection', that Memmory recognised her relationship with Hull was 'abusive.' It was a feature of such “abusive relationships” that the reality is only evident after the victim has walked away from it, said Miss Emsley-Smith.

Miss Emsley-Smith continued: “She has said her relationship with Kane Hull has left her distrustful of all men... She's been scarred by the experience."

But prosecutor Tim Evans outlined how Memmory's phone messages showed her flirting with Hull as she discussed sleeping arrangements at his next accommodation, and sharing a room. She spoke of "spooning" and tells him: "Think I’ll be wearing my fluffy jammas if I’m in with use 2," she wrote.

Memmory used false names to book accommodation for Hull and Porter at Alston, and then again, on September 21, another false name as she arranged staying at a guest house in Belfast.

Mr Evans said: "On September 24, she was driven to a ferry port to travel across to Northern Ireland to meet up with the two defendants. She booked and paid for yet another hotel in Northern Ireland for the three of them -the ETAP hotel in Belfast for the night of 24th.

"So, even in Northern Ireland, they were moving about."

After that stay, on September 25, Hull, Porter and Memmory moved on again, this time to Southern Ireland, where they checked into a holiday home at Carracastle, County Mayo, booking it from September 25 to 28.

"Olivia Memmory again paid for that stay," continued Mr Evans. It was at this bungalow that police eventually found the defendants, Hull hiding in the attic.

Jailing Memmory for 19 months, Mr Justice Linden told her there was no suggestion in any way that she was frightened of Hull. Indeed, she had told a doctor she was drawn to men with criminal associations.

“You understood that Hull had a record for previous stabbings and you were not surprised that he was being tried for murder,” said the judge. Nor was there any suggestion that Memmory was controlled by Hull.

“You told him [the medical practitioner] that you loved Hull and would have done anything for him.” Referring to the many accounts on social media about Ryan Kirkpatrick’s killing, the judge continued: “By the evening of September 21, you believed that Kane Hull was responsible for the death of Mr Kirkpatrick.

“You say you have a misguided sense of loyalty… by the time of the pre-sentence report you were saying you had been in a relationship  with Hull for seven months; you said he was controlling and verbally abusive.”

She said she grew to fear him; that she now realised it was an abusive relationship.” Her fear of him would not allow her to say no to him, she claimed. But Memmory’s interview with a doctor contradicted that account.

The judge said: “I am sure you assisted Hull and Porter willingly at all material times, albeit against a background of what is a complex picture in relation to your personality. You were not acting under any pressure or fear.

“You had various opportunities to walk away but instead took active steps to be with him. I am convinced that by September 20 you were aware that Hull had stabbed Ryan Kirkpatrick.”

That was apparent from her mobile phone messages.

She assisted the two killers over a period of eight days and took steps to conceal what she had done. As a result of what she did, the process of bringing Hull and Porter to justice was significantly delayed.

The judge accepted that Memmory – now in a new relationship - recognised that what she did was wrong.

Celmins helped Hull and Porter by providing them with a stolen Skoda car after they had burned the Volvo they were in when they sped away from Carlisle city centre after the stabbing. He picked it up in Manchester before delivering it to Hull and Porter while they hid at a hotel in Alston.

He was paid £150 for his help.

Celmins, from Irthington, claimed it was only after he had begun the journey to deliver that stolen Skoda that he realised the two fugitives were suspects for the fatal stabbing investigation.

Russell Davies, defending, told the court: "His lifestyle was chaotic indeed. He doesn't instruct me to make excuses based on his lifestyle and the consumption he undertook during this period. He wants to express how regretful he is that he ever became involved."

Mr Justice Linden told the barrister that Celmins was 'regretful' about his involvement but he had not expressed regret about the impact of the murder on Mr Kirkpatrick's family.

But Celmins accepted that he did what he did - taking one car and substituting it for another - in order to help Hull and Porter evade arrest. The defendant was jailed for 12-months.

The court then heard about the involvement of Ross Neville, whose criminal record comprised 42 previous offences, including convictions for violent disorder and dishonesty.

His role in helping Hull and Porter involved him transporting them on the night, and providing them with accommodation - albeit it is accepted he did not initially know they were wanted for murder.

He did, however, continue helping them after finding out that Hull and Porter were suspected of a fatal stabbing, says Mr Justice Linden.

The court heard that he had been summoned by Hull to a rendezvous near Carlisle Airport shortly after the murder, when an eye witness saw burning items being thrown out of his car.

The next day, Neville drove Hull to Newcastle, where the murderer attempted to see his solicitor. Within hours of this, Neville was helping Hull and Porter to search for holiday accommodation.

He was also involved in taking Hull and Porter to Kingstown Industrial estate a few days after the murder so the two fugitives could pick up another new car in their effort to remain below the police radar.

Neville’s defence barrister Jason Pitter KC said the defendant had made huge efforts to turn his life around. For 11 years, said the barrister, Neville  worked at building up his commercial vehicle business, which now had a turnover of £300,000 annually and employed a number of people.

The barrister added: “There is a low risk of him [Neville] reoffending. The risk was very much tied to his association with Mr Hull. But for Mr Hull, he would not be in this position. His role was limited."

Noting that the defendant was assessed to have a “low risk of reoffending” now that Hull was off the scene, the judge imposed a community payback order, with 200 hours of unpaid work, a £12,000 fine and a six month 7pm to 7am curfew.

Earlier, the court heard a statement from Ryan Kirkpatrick’s heartbroken mum. Describing the three defendants, she said: "It leaves me in shock and dismay and makes me lose faith in human beings, when such people should be condemned and should become social outcasts...and at times acted as though this was some kind of game and they were all playing."

Last month, Mr Justice Linden imposed life sentences on Hull and Porter. Hull must serve a minimum of 28 years and Porter 26 years. The trial heard that Hull had a simmering grudge against Mr Kirkpatrick, having been jailed for attacking him in a Carlisle betting shop four years before the fatal stabbing. 

Both men denied murder but were convicted after a trial on what the judge said had been "overwhelming" evidence of their guilt.