A number of people have started jail terms this year

It may only be April but several criminals from Coventry and Warwickshire have already been handed lengthy jail sentences in 2024. Shocking details of their crimes have come to light as they were sent to prison this year.

Criminals across the region – including from Leamington, Stratford and Nuneaton – have targeted the vulnerable and committed terrible crimes. From murderers to rapists and thugs, we’ve taken a look at some of the most horrific crimes from our area this year.

Keiron Spicer and Antoinette Sheppard

This deadly duo, aged 16 and 44, were in a ‘bizarre’ relationship when they lured 74-year-old pensioner Michael Brady to his death, a court was told. Mr Brady’s daughter said the pair had ‘scarred her family forever’.

They forced the pensioner to tell them his PIN numbers before killing him, then went on to withdraw cash to spend on booze and drugs.

Patrick Cassidy

Branded a dangerous thug, Cassidy left his victim with fractures to his eye socket and arm after an ‘horrific and unprovoked attack’. He approached the victim, a man in his 40s, in a street in Stratford-upon-Avon, stamping on his head with such force that he left a footprint on his face.

He was jailed for seven and a half years. Read more here

Luke Kyberd

Tattooed Kyberd, 29, pounced on a woman as she walked home from work in Leamington and raped her. He punched her in the head and tried to strangle her before sexually assaulting her.

The victim managed to get away and ran to a nearby restaurant. Read more here.

Arhin Tutu, Daniel Israel and Momoh Sesay

This trio was convicted of the killing of ‘loved’ dad Marvin Warmington at Gosford Green Park in Coventry. A court heard Mr Warmington was killed after an argument over drug dealing and the theft of a shared bicycle.

He was stabbed in the head and taken to hospital where he sadly died from his injuries. Read more here.

Demetrious Nickoloau

Nickoloau wasn’t just a dangerous driver – speeding at 75mph in a 30mph zone and running red lights. He also did all this while an 18-month-old child was in the back of the car. Even when police boxed him in, he tried to ram his way out.

He’s now been jailed. Read more here.

Francis Olner

Olner planned a savage attack on victim Mark Hoverd along with Stuart Grant and Aleksandras Gudkov and left him for dead before going on a spending spree using his cash cards.

The injuries they inflicted on the Nuneaton dad were so severe that he died hours later. Olner has been found guilty of murder while Grant and Gudkov were found guilty of manslaughter. Read more here.

Remy Gordon and Kami Carpenter

The pair have been found guilty of murdering Stratford footballer Cody Fisher in an attack in a Birmingham nightclub on Boxing Day, 2022. A court heard Mr Fisher was on a night out with friends when he was set upon by the pair following an ‘insignificant’ encounter a few nights earlier.

Read more here.

The killers of Bailey Atkinson

Young Mr Atkinson had left Coventry to escape a gang lifestyle. But while walking through Walsall town centre he was murdered in a ferocious attack involving a ‘Rambo’ knife and machetes.

Seven people have now been found guilty of his murder. Read more here.

Shannon Grant

Coventry killer Grant bought cable ties from a shop before killing Natasha Morais at her home in Leicester. A court heard he hid her body under her bed and then leaped out of a window before fleeing back to Coventry.

Police soon caught up with him, and he’s now been jailed after being found guilty of her murder. Read more here.

The killers of John Hackett

Three teenagers are starting jail terms for the manslaughter of Nuneaton man John Hackett. A court heard how the youths attacked him as he was walking his dog through the park.

He was taken to hospital but discharged himself and went home where, tragically, he was found dead the next morning.