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Last Modified: 27 Sep 2007
By: Carl Dinnen

Police hunting the killer of Rhys Jones are investigating a suspect named by the public.

His funeral brought the streets of Liverpool to a standstill. Liam 'Smigger' Smith - the leader of the Norris Green Strand Gang - was just 19 when he was shot dead.

He was killed as he left Altcourse Prison where he'd been visiting a friend. While there he'd got into an argument with Ryan Lloyd from a rival gang - The Croxteth Crew. Lloyd ran back to his cell and made a phone call ordering his death - half an hour later Smith was killed in the prison car park.

Ryan Lloyd, Thomas Forshaw and a 16-year-old are due to be sentenced later today. They were found guilty of Smiths murder last month. A fourth man Liam Duffy was found guilty of manslaughter.

A year after that killing - Rhys Jones was shot dead. It's thought he was caught in crossfire in continuing rivalry between the two gangs.

Last night on BBC's Crimewatch Programme - police appealed for help to find Rhys' killer. They released CCTV pictures of the teenager they believe was responsible. Rhys' mother made a direct appeal to the killer's mother.

Merseyside police say they've had 40 calls from people willing to identify the killer. A small glimmer of hope for Rhys' family on the day he should have been celebrating his twelfth birthday.