Killer gangster who helped carry out notorious murder threatened in court by 'Iceman'

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A gangster who helped to carry out one of the UK's most notorious murders was threatened in court by a gunman known as "the Iceman".

Steven Boyle helped the assassin - whose real name is Mark Fellows - with the planned murder of his underworld enemy John Kinsella. Fellows, who had already murdered Salford's Mr Big Paul Massey with a sub-machine gun on his doorstep, shot Kinsella dead in front of his pregnant partner in 2018.

The incident took place on a path near the M62. Kinsella, who lived nearby, had been out walking his dogs when Fellows came cycling up behind him and opened fire.

Boyle was convicted of Kinsella's murder along with his partner in crime and trusted associate Fellows. But in a staggering turn of events, Boyle gave evidence at the trial claiming he was "duped" by Fellows into unwittingly being part of Kinsella's murder.

Our sister title, the Liverpool Echo, took a closer look at Kinsella's childhood friend Boyle and how their relationship broke down within the walls of Liverpool Crown Court.

The rival Salford factions

A fall-out within the ranks of Salford's A-Team gang - a rival faction known as the Anti A-Team - saw reckless criminals from both Greater Manchester and Merseyside embroiled in an ultra-violent feud. Boyle and Fellows both joined the anti-A team faction which fought a violent gang war with their enemies on the streets of Salford.

The gang war initially culminated in the fatal Uzi-machine gun attack of Massey, who had been associated with the A-Team gang. But days after the high profile murder, Fellows was shot by gangsters loyal to Massey in a suspected reprisal attack. Fellows was then recalled to prison on licence by police who suspected he was involved in gangland violence. After he was released he decided to kill Kinsella who blamed him for Massey's murder - and he looked to bring in his companion Boyle.

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In his brother's shadow

Boyle's older brother Michael had been jailed for 15 years for his role in a violent gang war in the late 1990s. Gang boss Stephen Lydiate organised a series of reprisal attacks after he was shot and nearly killed in a Salford pub while watching Manchester United play Leeds in 1999.

Lydiate then assembled a gang which organised a wave of punishment shootings and kidnappings when they tried to find out who had organised the pub attack. Michael Boyle, from Salford, joined the crew. At one point during the terror campaign some of the Lydiate gang hid out at an old people's home in Salford.

Lydiate and some of his associates even wore wigs and dresses when tried to appear to be old ladies. The men were forced to move on from Lawrence Lowry Court after one of their guns accidentally went off, upsetting the residents. Lydiate, then of Vestrie Drive in Salford, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to kidnap. He was jailed for 22 years.

Michael Boyle, then of Winton Road in Salford, was convicted of conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to kidnap, false imprisonment, wounding and two firearms offences. He was jailed for 15 years. Lydiate, who was later released from prison on licence, was attacked by members of the A-Team gang on the day of Massey's funeral, who beat him with wooden staves.

Sinister past

By the time Boyle was arrested in relation to the murders of Massey and Kinsella he was already well known to the police. Boyle had robbed a petrol station with four other men in 1999 and, in 2011, was driving a hire vehicle on false plates, stopped by police in Whiston.

An unidentified passenger fled and ditched a wig and glasses, before escaping. He left behind a Baikal loaded handgun, equipped with a silencer, and 82 rounds in a bag. Boyle’s fingerprints were on the bag and his DNA was on the working firearm. He was convicted of possessing a handgun and ammunition without a certificate at trial.

In 2011 he and a second man stole £1,000 of cigarettes from an unattended petrol station in Cornwall, using a car with false plates. In November 2015, police searched his home and found 22.5g of cocaine at 64% purity, which he admitted dealing, plus cash, digital scales and multiple phones.

The shooting of Kinsella

Kinsella, 53, was gunned down while walking his dogs with his pregnant girlfriend Wendy Owen near their home on May 5 2018. The "notorious" underworld figure was shot four times by a cyclist on a country track, near junction 7 of the M62, shortly before 7am. It was said that Fellows carried out the murder while Boyle acted as his "spotter". The pair had previously travelled to the area for an aborted murder attempt on April 29. At that time Fellows came from Warrington by bike while Boyle from Heywood by car, but "arrived too late to carry out the killing".

But the following week the two men successfully executed the attack, with Fellows hitting his target twice in the back before walking up to him and shooting him in the head. He also fired towards the victim's partner in the hope of scaring her off. The shooting was described as "an execution, pure and simple".

Courtroom drama

Boyle and Fellows stood trial late in 2018 when prosecutors revealed disturbing details about the gang war which led to the deaths of Massey and Kinsella. Fellows chose not to give any evidence during the trial - but in a staggering moment Boyle told the jury he was "duped" by "the Iceman" into unwittingly being part of the Kinsella murder.

There were gasps in the public gallery as he said he thought he was going to Rainhill to collect drugs money, but was passed a rucksack containing the Webley revolver used in the shooting. Sitting in the dock, seething Fellows later clutched a pen he had been using to take notes, stared at his co-accused, and drew it slowly across his throat.

Boyle, who claimed he believed that the bag was going to be full of money, said he abandoned the car with the gun inside near his aunt's house in Thatto Heath, as "there was no way I was driving around with that gun in the car". When asked how he felt about being conned, Boyle said: "How can you do that to your own friend? Why would you do it?"

When arrested at a hotel, where he was staying under a false name, Boyle told an officer: "Who can I speak to about what has gone on?" He said: "I haven’t murdered anybody but I probably know more things about it than I should. If I say anything though, my family would need protection."

The mention of "protection" prompted the chilling throat gesture from Fellows, who glared at Boyle as he discussed how the criminal code was "don't grass". "Arrangements" had to be made to keep the two men separate in the dock as the trial then progressed.

But sentencing Boyle, presiding judge Mr Justice Davis told him his evidence "was a lie" and that "part of your job was to take the gun away which is what you did". He added: "You were the one who disposed of the gun, probably by returning to whoever had provided it to Mark Fellows."

Boyle was sentenced to life behind bars with a minimum of 33 years while Fellows received a whole life sentence for the murders of both Massey and Kinsella. Boyle was acquitted of the Massey murder.

More violence behind bars

Boyle was attacked by another prisoner at HMP Wakefield in January 2020. A source told the ECHO that Boyle was attacked by another prisoner and then retaliated. Boyle is thought to have been punched in the face although no weapons were involved. Boyle was moved to HMP Belmarsh after the incident at Wakefield. He also had an application for leave to appeal his conviction refused in November 2021.

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