Mark Fellows (hitman)

Mark Fellows (nicknamed "The Iceman") (5 September 1980) is an English hitman convicted of the murders of John Kinsella and Paul Massey.[1] At the time of his conviction he was only one of 70 prisoners sentenced to a whole life term.[1]

This article is about the convicted English hitman. For American football linebacker, see Mark Fellows.

Background

Fellows lived in Warrington but was originally from Salford.[2]

Murders

Paul Massey murder

On 26 July 2015, Massey was shot dead outside his home on Manchester Road, Clifton, by a lone gunman. The killer was reported to have been wearing military style fatigues and carried a weapon "similar to a sub machine gun".[3] Greater Manchester Police offered a £50,000 reward for information pertaining to the killing.[4]

John Kinsella murder

Kinsella was shot dead on 5 May 2018 near St Helens Linkway in Rainhill as he walked with his pregnant partner Wendy Owens.[5][6] The killers used encrypted EncroChat handsets to co-ordinate the murder.[7][8][6][9]

Trial

The trial lasted eight weeks, with heavily armed police officers in attendance.[6] His fellow criminal Steven Boyle was also on trial.[6] Boyle was described as Fellows "brother in arms" and accused of acting as a spotter, watching the victims and providing assistance to the gunman.[6]

During the trial, evidence from a Garmin fitness watch with a GPS function found in Fellows' house was used to show that he had travelled from his home to a field opposite Massey's home.[10]

Conviction

Fellows was found guilty of the murders of both Massey and Kinsella, but found not guilty of the attempted murder of Owen.[6] Mr Justice William Davis sentenced him to a whole-life term.[6] Boyle was convicted of the murder of Kinsella, but cleared of the murder of Massey and the attempted murder of Owen.[6]

Assault in prison

In February 2019 Fellows was seriously injured when he was slashed by another prisoner with a weapon believed to have been made from a razor blade.[2] He was attacked in HM Prison Whitemoor and airlifted to hospital.[2]

Appeal of sentence

He appealed against his sentence on the grounds that it was "excessive", but in July 2019 the appeal was turned down.[11]

2020 attempted murder trial

In October 2020 Fellows went on trial accused of attempting to murder Abduhl Khan and Aaron Williams, associates of Paul Massey.In 2015, there were a number of incidents as a result of a dispute between two Salford organised crime groups who called themselves the 'A Team' and 'Anti-A Team'. The incidents were all investigated as part of 'Operation Leopard', led by detectives from GMP's Major Incident Team.

These sentences are the culmination of Operation Leopard: Phase Three. Under phases One and Two, 11 members of organised crime groups were jailed in connection with linked incidents including the murders of Paul Massey and John Kinsella and the shootings of seven-year-old Christian Hickey Junior and his mother, Jayne.

The first incident investigated as part of Operation Leopard: Phase Three happened on Wednesday 18 February 2015 on Doveleys Road. Three men were in a parked car when three shots were fired - at point blank range - into the driver's door. Police later found a hidden tracker on the Mercedes.

The second happened on Friday 21 March 2015 on Brattice Drive. Two other men were near one of their cars when they were attacked with a machete and a baseball bat. One of them was seriously injured and could have been killed if it was not for an off duty nurse who administered first aid. Police later found a hidden tracker on the Volkswagen.

The jury was told how both incidents were planned ambushes of members of the A Team by members of the Anti-A Team.

Key to the investigations were the forensic examinations of the trackers found on the vehicles - the DNA of Aaron Parkin (08/12/1987), of HMP Manchester, was found on one of the devices.

Telephone analysis also linked Parkin to the purchase, deployment and monitoring of both devices.

CCTV from Parkin's home showed Mark Fellows, of HMP Wakefield, was there when a tracker was monitored in the lead up to one of the incidents.

Following a six week trial, a jury found Fellows guilty of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm in connection with the second incident. Parkin previously pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm in connection with both incidents.

On 13 November 2020 a judge at Manchester Crown Court sentenced Fellows to life with a minimum term of nine years and Parkin to 14 years. [12]

References
  1. Halliday, Josh (18 January 2019). "Mark Fellows: how Salford hitman evaded police for gangland murders". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. Keeling, Neal (25 February 2019). "Paul Massey's killer Mark Fellows back in prison after razor blade attack left him seriously injured". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  3. "Paul Massey murder: 'Mr Big' case detectives offer £50k reward - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  4. Halliday, Josh. "Paul Massey murder: police offer £50,000 reward for information". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  5. "Underworld enforcer named as St Helens shooting victim". BBC News. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  6. Perraudin, Frances (16 January 2019). "Hitman guilty of murdering Salford 'Mr Big' Paul Massey". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  7. Staff (26 November 2018). "Underworld duo 'murdered in gangland feud'". BBC News.
  8. Hamilton, Fiona (2 July 2020). "Hundreds of arrests as police crack phone network used by crime bosses". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. His trial was told the hits were co-ordinated using Encrochat on a device which cost £1,500 for a six-month contract and was sold on websites visited by those engaged in crime.
  9. "'Mr Big' Paul Massey murder: Hitman gets life in jail". BBC News. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  10. Barnes, Tom (17 January 2019). "Mark Fellows: Gangland hitman jailed for life over murders of 'Mr Big' Paul Massey and John Kinsella". The Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  11. "Gangland hitman fails in appeal against 'excessive' life sentence". Press Association. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  12. "Killer of Salford's Mr Big 'plotted to murder two other men". BBC News. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
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