Christopher Hughes: eight men jailed for 229 years for murder of Wigan man

Eight men have been jailed for a minimum of 229 years for the kidnap and murder of Wigan man, Christopher Hughes.

Christopher’s body was found on Tuesday 22 February last year by a member of the public with their dog on White Moss Road South in Skelmersdale. He had been kidnapped, tortured and killed after a gang of men wrongly thought he had sexually assaulted a girl. They drove him from Wigan to a rural lane and left his mutilated body at the scene on a grassy embankment in White Moss Road South, near the M58

A post-mortem examination found that Christopher, 37, had suffered over 90 sharp force injuries to his head, neck, body and limbs, with most majority cruelly inflicted while he was still alive.

Following a five-month trial, eight men were convicted for his kidnap and murder.

His body had remained undiscovered for four days following his brutal murder, which included a wide-ranging search as a high-risk missing.

A trial that began in October concluded last month with the conviction of eight men for kidnap and murder.

The following men were jailed today (9 February 2023) at Liverpool Crown Court:

• Erland Spahiu (13/10/1988) of White Moss Road, Skelmersdale - jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years for murder, 12 years for kidnap to run concurrently
• Curtis Balbas (01/01/1992) of Matheson Drive, Wigan - life with a minimum term of 34 years for murder, 9 years for kidnap to run concurrently
• Martin Smith (02/05/1988) of Laithwaite Road, Wigan - life with a minimum term of 33 years for murder, 12 years for kidnap to run concurrently
• Razgar Khader Mohammed (01/01/1982) of Plane Avenue, Wigan - life with a minimum term 27 years for murder, 12 years for kidnap to run concurrently
• Alan Jaf (01/09/1970) of Ridyard Street, Wigan - life with a minimum term of 26 years for murder, 12 years for kidnap to run concurrently
• Khalil Awla (01/01/1974) of Greenwood, Wigan - life with a minimum term of 26 years for murder, 12 years for kidnap to run concurrently
• Dean Smeaton O’Neill-Davey (12/08/1992) of Bulteel Street, Wigan - life with a minimum term 25 years for murder, 12 years for kidnap to run concurrently
• Erion Voja (18/08/2001) of Peall Road, Croydon - life with a minimum term of 23 years for murder, 10 Years for kidnap to run concurrently

A ninth man, Andrius Uzkuraitis, 27, of Holly Road, Wigan, was convicted of assisting an offender and jailed for six years.

Brutal attack

The series of events began on the evening before Christopher’s murder when the guilty men wrongly believed he had committed a sexual offence. However, DNA evidence submitted in that investigation did not match Christopher’s.

The gang - who all knew each other or were related - chose to take the law into their own hands, searching the Wigan area for hours on the evening of the Thursday 17 February 2022, eventually attending at his home address when unlawful entry was made.

The hunt continued the following day until Christopher was abducted in broad daylight, by being forced into the boot of a car and driven at speed to Skelmersdale.

It was in the vicinity of White Moss Road South that Christopher was brutally attacked and killed in act of retribution. Later that evening the group reconvened and put a plan in place to hide Christopher’s body, with a number forming a burial party.

They were disturbed by police presence in the area on unrelated matters and abandoned their plans, and Christopher’s body remained undiscovered for several days in snowy, wet weather.

The guilty men continued to cover their tracks by destroying CCTV, changing telephones, deleting messages and disposing of the Audi used in the kidnap.

Hours of CCTV footage was recovered and painstakingly reviewed by officers who were able to discover the defendants’ activities which have resulted in Christopher’s life being cruelly and viciously taken, leaving his family and friends devastated.

Police and family reaction

Detective Inspector Heidi Cullum of GMP’s Major Incident Team said: “These men took the law into their own hands and murdered Christopher Hughes.

“What they did in February last year was nothing short of atrocious.

“The work of the Major Incident Team and specialist units within GMP, along with the Crown Prosecution Service in bringing these individuals to justice, has been meticulous.

“We only hope the verdict and sentences brings some justice and comfort to his family and friends.”

Christopher’s family also added their own tribute: “We would like to thank sincerely the officers of Greater Manchester Police and the North West Crown Prosecution Service for their hard work on this case over the past number of months.

“We are pleased that justice has finally been done. It will not bring Christopher back, but he will live on in our hearts forever and the memories of him we will hold dearly.”

In an impact statement read to the court befre, Christopher’s mum, Susan Hudson, said that the lives of her, his father, sisters, daughter and wider family unit ”will never be complete again.”

She said that losing a child at any age was devastating and “although he was an adult he was still my child.

“The death of Christopher, my child, leaves us with love we can no longer give him …and a feeling that in some vital way we failed to keep him from harm.”

She continued that the decision by the killers to use their hands as tools for their perceived “justice and revenge” and to take his life “scars my heart.”

Mrs Hudson said that his body had been “discarded like it didn’t matter as if a living soul could be disposed of like a piece of litter. I cannot imagine the level of pain Christopher went through in the moments of his death.

“It is truly the script of a nightmare that my family have been cast as characters to endure further suffering.”