Men who murdered teen, 19, in 'cold-blooded shooting' pictured for first time

Martin Wilson, 37, and Connor Smith, 26, have been found guilty of the murder of Nyle Corrigan after he was shot dead in the street in Merseyside in a 'targeted and planned attack'

Two men who murdered a teenager in a sickening 'cold-blooded' public execution have been pictured for the first time.

Martin Wilson, 37, and Connor Smith, 26, were found guilty on Tuesday of the murder of 19-year-old Nyle Corrigan, who was fatally shot in the back in Stockbridge Village, Merseyside on November 12 2020 after a row over a £60 debt got "out of hand". Mr Corrigan was ambushed by the two men, who arrived on the scene on foot wearing masks and carrying a Glock self-loading pistol.

They shot him at around 6.30pm, and Mr Corrigan died at the scene around 50 minutes later. The two gunmen were also convicted of conspiracy to possess a 9mm Glock self-loading pistol with intent to endanger life.

The two murderers had been on trial along with Jamie Coggins, 28, and Anthony Llewellyn, 25, who were both also charged with murder, reports the Liverpool Echo. After 12 hours and eight minutes of deliberations the jury of six men and five women cleared the two men of murder, though Coggins was convicted of assisting an offender.

At Liverpool Crown Court, the prosecution told how Mr Corrigan had fallen out with an associate of Wilson's, named Liam Cohen, when he had failed to pay back a £60 debt. Mr Corrigan and Mr Cohen's partner had traded insults on Facebook, an act said by the prosecution to have "incensed" Wilson and Smith in the days leading up to the killing.

In CCTV footage shown to the jury, Mr Corrigan could be seen riding along a residential street on his bicycle before the two masked men step out and shoot him. Mr Corrigan is then seen staggering along before falling to the ground, where the two killers appear to say something to him before leaving on his bike. Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told the jury: "This was not some random act of street violence. It was rather a targeted and planned attack, executed with ruthless efficiency by a team who had staked out the location knowing that their victim was due to be there."

The court heard the bullet went through his spine and passed through his body causing “catastrophic damage”. Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said further words were exchanged but no further shot was discharged due to a defect in the handgun. He said: “Nyle managed to stagger down the line of some houses but then collapsed where he would go on to die.”

The jury was told that the day before the shooting, Wilson had joined a group of masked men who turned up outside Mr Corrigan's family home in Little Moss Hey. They asked where he was and told his mum, Lesley Kelly, that he was "dead" and would be "getting it".

Martin Wilson and Connor Smith were convicted on Tuesday of the murder of Nyle Corrigan. Smith's parents, Melanie Smith, 47, and Mark Sharpe, 49, joined their son in the dock after they were accused of assisting an offender by helping him travel to to Portsmouth before he fled to Spain. Both were cleared of the charges. Connor Smith hugged his mum, who appeared to be crying, before he was led to the cells.

Wilson, of no fixed abode but of Huyton, Merseyside and Smith, also from Huyton, and Coggins from Stockbridge Village will be sentenced at the same court on Thursday. Wilson and Smith can both expect life sentences with a minimum of 30 years for murder.