Fifth man jailed in connection with the churchyard killing of a Wigan dad

Jordan Short, 21, from Liverpool but currently of no fixed address, was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison, for offences of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.

He will also spend three years on licence upon his release.

Short is the fifth person to be imprisoned in connection with 34-year-old Steven McMyler’s death outside Wigan parish church in August 2020, after Lewis Peake ,30, Michael Wilson, 20, and two teenagers – aged 14 and 17 – were sentenced in June 2021, following their conviction for manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.

They were jailed for a total of 35 years.

On that fateful day, Mr McMyler had returned to Wigan from London, after cancelling plans to travel to Thailand upon learning that he would need to self-isolate for a fortnight.

He was still carrying his suitcase with him when he first met Peake in a pub. It was here, after discovering the high value of Mr McMyler’s watch, that Peake decided he would rob him.

He first tried to persuade two schoolboys outside The Raven pub to help him carry out the attack, and was said to have promised £100 to assault him.

The offer was rejected, but Peake was not so easily deterred in the execution of his plan as he and the father-of-two from Marsh Green walked to the church gardens.

The four young men from Merseyside arrived at Wigan Wallgate station at 7.12pm on Thursday August 6 and seven minutes later walked up to the entrance of the church garden.

CCTV footage showed a short discussion between them and Peake took place, and Mr McMyler was surrounded by the group, before he was “volleyed” in the head.

Matters took an unpredictable turn as Mr McMyler lay dying, when the Merseyside group turned on Peake.

After a bleeding Peake ran away they too dashed from the church, and were said to be “laughing or grinning” as they took a taxi back to Merseyside.

Peake later shamelessly returned to the attack scene and casually made off with Mr McMyler’s phone and suitcase, ignoring the stricken dad. When he was arrested later that day, he told police he had “zero” involvement in Mr McMyler’s death, and painted himself as the victim of an assault.

Steven’s family said: “Today’s conviction is not the one we had hoped for or wanted, as no sentence will ever be enough to reflect the despicable attack for pure greed on our much loved son.

“One day those five responsible will again walk the streets, our son will not.

“Our lives were left shattered by this despicable crime and we will never come to terms with what has happened. Steven’s two daughters have been left without their dad.

“We will ensure that his memory and legacy will live on in his daughters and all those who knew and loved him.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to thank GMP including our family liaison officer, and all those involved for their total dedication to the case.“As a family we would now like to be given time to grieve and try to move forward without Steven in our lives”.

Det Chief Insp Wes Knights, of GMPs Major Incident Team, said: “Short’s sentencing today was the final stage in this long-running investigation and we hope that the result brings some form of closure for Steven’s family, though we are fully aware that no result could ever be enough to take away the pain of losing him.

“This was an utterly heinous, cowardly and shocking attack on an innocent man, and all to make some money.

"Short has shown no remorse since being arrested, accepting his involvement in Steven’s death only as the trial was due to commence, but has now faced justice for his actions and we are pleased that he will be taken off our streets for the foreseeable future”.