Police killer Dale Cregan given whole life sentence

Dale Cregan admitted murdering PCs Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, soon after the hearing started, but he and nine co-defendants denied a series of further offences in a court case lasting almost four months.

PC Bone’s father, Paul Bone, said Cregan’s “callousness and lack of empathy” was beyond comprehension.

The officers were ambushed after responding to a routine 999 call at an address in Mottram, Greater Manchester, on 18 September, 2012.

Cregan, 30, had reported a fictitious crime and was waiting at the property armed with a glock pistol and a hand grenade.

After shooting the officers and tossing a grenade at their bodies, he handed himself in at Hyde Police Station.

Police constables Fiona Bone (L) and Nicola Hughes (R)

At the time, Cregan was wanted in connection with two previous murders and was the subject of an urgent manhunt.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable, Sir Peter Fahy, says although more than 100 addresses were raided in the search for Cregan, the “sophisticated tactics” of his criminal network enabled him to evade detection.

A number of people remain on police bail in connection with assisting Cregan while he was on the run.

Father and son murdered

Shortly before the end of the trial, Cregan also changed his plea in relation to the murders of father and son David and Mark Short. He admitted killing Mark Short, 23, in a shooting at the Cotton Tree pub in Droylsden in May last year and his father, David Short, 46, in a gun and grenade attack at his home in the Clayton area in August.

The murder of David Short prompted Greater Manchester police to launch its largest-ever manhunt to trace his killer.

Cregan was found not guilty of another count of attempted murder in relation to a grenade attack on Sharon Hark.

It’s like a surreal nightmare you realise you’re never going to wake up from – Nicola Hughes’s father

During the trial the prosecution said an altercation at the pub earlier in May had prompted the murders after two notorious Manchester crime families, the Shorts and the Atkinsons, locked horns.

Prosecutors proposed that the killings were revenge attacks carried out on behalf of the Atkinson family, to whom Cregan was fiercely loyal. However the jury found Cregan’s close friend, Leon Atkinson, 35, not guilty on all charges.

Hand grenades

The supply of arms to Cregan is still being investigated.

It can now be disclosed that a store of hand grenades linked to Cregan was seized by Greater Manchester Police in the last week.

Chief Constable, Sir Peter Fahy, said grenades were often used by organised crime groups as a form of intimidation and the threat from them was “increasing.”

If Fiona had been armed to the teeth it wouldn’t have made any difference – Fiona Bone’s father

“The problem is there are huge numbers of these weapons out there from other parts of the world and it is relatively easy for some people to import them into the country,” he said.

Nicola Hughes’ father, Bryn Hughes, said it was impossible to come to terms with the manner of his daughter’s death.

“It’s like a surreal nightmare you realise you’re never going to wake up from,” he said.

Paul Bone said he would never forgive Cregan, but rejected calls to arm the police made in response to his daughter’s death.

“If Fiona had been armed to the teeth it wouldn’t have made any difference,” he said. “I don’t think the British public want or need people to go around with guns pointing at other people all the time. I don’t think Fiona would have wanted to be fully armed.”

Timeline

13 May 2012
Altercation between members of the Short family and the Atkinson family at the Cotton Tree Pub, Droylsden.

25 May 2012
Mark Short shot dead at the Cotton Tree pub.

12 June 2012
Dale Cregan arrested on suspicion of murdering Mark Short.

13 June 2012
Cregan released on bail.

7 August 2012
Cregan goes on the run after an attempt is made to re-arrest him.

10 August 2012
David Short killed in a gun and grenade attack at his home in Clayton.

18 September 2012
PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes killed in a gun and grenade attack in Mottram. Cregan gives himself up.

22 February 2013
Four days into his trial, Cregan admits murdering PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes.

22 May 2013
Cregan admits murdering David and Mark Short.

4 June 2013
Jury retires to consider its verdicts.

13 June 2013
Cregan given whole life sentence