Life behind bars for gang who slit man's throat and dumped his body in stream

Four murderers who slit the throat of a young Long Eaton man and dumped his body in a stream have each been jailed for life. A judge told Jack Towell, David Oswald and two other men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, what they did to Owen Fairclough was “a planned killing” which “wiped out his capacity to live a decent family life”.

The quartet conspired together - led by "prime mover" Towell - and hatched a plan to kill the 21-year-old believing he was about to report their drug dealing criminality to the police. They lured him to a secluded spot in Breaston where three of them savagely murdered him and fled from the scene.

Telling the quartet they would collectively serve at least 110 years behind bars before they can apply for parole, Judge Gregory Dickinson KC said: “Shortly before midnight on June 21, 2023, in an isolated area, Owen Fairclough was murdered. His throat had been cut, he had been stabbed and barely alive he was manhandled to a bank and dropped into a brook.

“There his body remained for two days until it was found. Owen was no angel. He was being drawn into the world of drugs by people like you. But he was loved, he had youth and had the capacity to live a decent family life. That was wiped out by you.

“This was a planned killing to preserve your criminal lifestyle. The method of killing was no doubt discussed - a Rambo knife. There may have been one knife or two, one assailant or two. But all of you killed Owen Fairclough and there has been a total lack of remorse.”

A five-week trial at Derby Crown Court heard how Mr Fairclough’s body was found by a gang of young teens with his feet lying in the water in a secluded area by a path close to the Navigation Inn, at around 7.20pm on June 23, last year. Prosecutor Peter Joyce KC, when he opened the trial, said: “He had a massive injury from where his throat had been cut. He had also been stabbed to the front of his body.

"Owen Fairclough had been lured to the area where his body was found, taken to the isolated, secluded place by Towell and was killed by three of them. All four of the defendants planned the killing in the preceding days and three of them carrying it out was the fulfilment of that pact."

The trial was told how Towell and Mr Fairclough “had been very good friends and they also knew each other's extensive criminal activity” and it was thought by one of the others that he wanted to expose that activity.

Mr Joyce said, 10 days before the killing, Towell had received information that Mr Fairclough was planning on going to "the feds (the police)" about his criminal activity.

Mr Fairclough’s sister, Catherine, bravely read her own victim impact statement to the court. In it she said: "The last one year and five months have been a rollercoaster of grief and heartache. I feel like I have been walking in a world where everything is grey. There has been no light, no happiness and no energy. He was my big brother and now I feel alone."

Mr Joyce read out impact statements made by the victim’s parents. In hers, his mother said: "I miss him every day. Every single day and it has broken my heart and I am never going to get over the loss of my son. One thing I will never understand is why so much violence was used. Losing Owen has completely altered my life beyond recognition."

And in his Mr Fairclough’s father, Andrew, said: “I don't understand how anyone can be so callous. Losing Owen feels like I have lost part of myself. There is now a massive void. Losing Owen has been absolutely monumental. We all have a whole life sentence."

Each of the defendants were jailed for life.

Towell, 22, of Castle Boulevard, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to murder partway through the trial and was told it will be 30 years before he will be eligible to apply for parole. James Horne KC, mitigating, said: “Nothing I can say will alleviate the devastating impact his actions he has caused on those who loved Owen. Jack Towell was just 21 years of age at the time and suffers with an emotionally unstable personality disorder which may have an impact on his level of maturity. Credit for plea is probably the only point I need to make."

Oswald, 31, of Granville Square, Birmingham, was unanimously found guilty of murder and given a 26-year minimum tariff. Gordon Cole KC his barrister, said: “He’s an older man who knows he is going to receive a sentence of life imprisonment."

Man A, who is 23 and from the Long Eaton area, was also unanimously found guilty of murder and told he cannot apply for parole until 29 years into his life sentence. Clive Stockwell KC, mitigating, said: “This has been his first taste of custody.”

And Man B, a 28-year-old father-of-one, from Nottinghamshire, was found guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to 2 and was handed a 25-year tariff. Sam Green KC, his barrister, said: “His role is a lesser one compared to the other three. There is no evidence he knew such gratuitous violence was going to be used."

Detective Staff Investigator Molly Mee, who led the investigation, said: “This was a pre-planned and callous attack organised by Towell after he became convinced that Owen was about to inform police of the group’s drug dealing exploits.

“Towell recruited Oswald and these other two men as part of his plan and the group then lay in wait for Owen, ready to kill him in the most horrific way.

“Their calculated actions led to the needless death of a young man who had his whole life ahead of him. The fact they carried on just drinking and taking drugs in the days after killing Owen speaks volumes about their characters.”

Samantha Shallow, from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This was a planned, calculated and cold-blooded killing. Towell, and his associates identified Owen Fairclough as a threat to their criminal activities and made up their minds that they would kill him. They recruited Oswald to assist in their plan.

“The prosecution’s case was that the four of them planned the killing, so they were each responsible for Owen’s death. Whether they were part of the planning or whether they were part of the fatal ambush, they are all guilty of his murder.

“I would like to offer my heartfelt sympathies to Owen’s family and loved ones as they come to terms with this sudden and tragic loss.”