Three gang members jailed for horrific murder of man who was set on fire at home

Three men have now been jailed for almost 60 years for Mr Beattie's murder.

However, Lancashire Police pledged on Friday to continue hunting two men wanted in connection with the horrific incident.

Mr Beattie, 48, died from his injuries two weeks after the shocking attack at his Skelmersdale home in September 2019, which came as a result of feuding gangs trying to instil fear and command their dominance in the drugs supply trade in Skelmersdale.

Mr Beattie and others in Skelmersdale had become victims in County line drug dealing, buying and dealing drugs on behalf of a group known as the Nathan Line.

This angered the leaders of the rival Merseyside-based Ronnie and Reggie line and led to them travelling to Skelmersdale on the evening of September 25, 2019.

Connah Jenkinson, 26, was found guilty of murder and arson with intent and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 30 years.

John O’Brien, 33, was also found guilty of manslaughter and arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered and was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Joseph McEwan, 20, was found guilty of the same charges as O'Brien and was sentenced to 13 years behind bars.

All three are from Liverpool.

Two Skelmersdale men, 34-year-old Paul Hart and John Farrimond, 48, were also in the dock facing charges of murder and arson with intent and arson with intent respectively.

However, they were both acquitted.

At just after 11pm on Wednesday September 25 2019 a deliberate fire was started at an address on Willow Hey in Skelmersdale. The occupants there had also started buying and selling drugs for the Nathan line. Petrol was poured through the letter box and onto the front door which was then set alight.

The occupants luckily managed to escape the premises without injury and contact the emergency services.

An hour and a half later, at about 12.40am, Mr Beattie was at his flat in Waverley when there was a knock at his front door.

He answered the door and a group of men forced their way into his flat and doused him and his flat in petrol.

Both he and his flat were then set on fire before the men fled the scene.

Mr Beattie sustained serious injuries and was taken to Whiston Hospital but sadly died a fortnight later.

An extensive police investigation showed the Liverpool gang had travelled from Merseyside to Skelmersdale in O’Brien’s Citroen van with a distinctive feature of a teddy strapped to the front radiator grill which was captured on CCTV.

Police enquiries also showed the mobile phone numbers ascribed to the R&R line, Jenkinson and McEwan showed they were all in use in Liverpool before the attacks, travelled to and from Skelmersdale on the day of the attacks and subsequently became untraceable in the days following.

O’Brien’s Citroen van was never seen again after September 27.

DCI Pauline Stables from Lancashire Police said: “Robert Beattie was a vulnerable man who was the victim of a brutal, horrendous and violent attack which caused extensive and widespread burns. His injuries were not survivable and resulted, tragically, in his death two weeks later.

"It is hard to think of a more horrific way to die and my thoughts today are foremost with his loved ones.

“The men convicted of this brutal murder travelled to Skelmersdale to carry out these offences with a complete disregard for human life and in an effort to intimidate and instil fear in our local vulnerable communities and establish a foothold dealing drugs.

“This terrible incident is testament to the fear, misery and devastation travelling drug dealing gangs or County lines can cause to the local community.

"Two of the group responsible for the attack have yet to be identified and I would urge anyone with information to report it to Lancashire Police.”

After the sentences were imposed Mr Beattie's family released an emotional tribute.

It read: "No family expects a loved one to be taken under circumstances like this. You always hear about these types of disturbing attacks happening to other families and we don’t think anyone can fully understand the heartbreak, trauma and long term impacts a situation like this can cause unless they experience it first-hand.

"Nothing can prepare you for such a trauma and life will never be the same again. Our grieving as a family has only just started and it is even more difficult knowing that some of those responsible for this inhumane attack on bobby are still walking free.

"Bobby meant a lot to many people who knew him. He was an uncle, great uncle, cousin, nephew, brother in law and a friend to many, but most importantly he was our big brother. Having lost both of our parents and another oldest brother, he remained the oldest member of our immediate family and we still looked up to him.

"Bobby had been dependent on drugs for many years and for this reason he was vulnerable. He was not a bad person and anyone who knew him will tell you this. He was always kind to others; he would offer food to his friends to make sure that they did not go without.

"Whenever Bobby saw his younger nieces and nephews, he would spend time with them at the park or take them the shop for sweets. He loved to spend time playing and entertaining them.

"To them he was just their uncle Bobby, someone who would make them laugh and they often looked forward to seeing him. His older nieces and nephews have many fond memories from their childhood, of which they will treasure forever, now are irreplaceable as new memories cannot be made.

"Our hearts are truly broken and will never be the same again because of the traumatic circumstances in which he was taken from our lives. Our hopes and dreams for the future together have come to a halt. We cannot celebrate his 50th birthday in March, instead we will be laying flowers at the cemetery.

"As a family we will miss seeing his cheeky smile and hearing his laughter. We will miss seeing him interact with the younger family members and his unplanned visits. We will miss the opportunity to make new memories. We will deeply miss our Bobby.

"No sentence imposed can ever reflect the heart ache and pain these individuals have inflicted upon our family. As a family we will never come to terms with our loss.

"We can only hope that he is now with our Mum and Dad, catching up with his favourite people and keeping an eye on those left behind."

Lancashire Police has now vowed to identify two other men who were involved in the attack and are urging anyone with information to come forward.

The force released footage of five men on Windrows at around 1am before heading back to Liverpool.

Three of them are the trio that have now behind bars, but the two men circled in red on the video are not known to the police and wanted in connection with Mr Beattie's murder.

If you can help the police with this investigation, get in touch via the Major Incident Public Portal at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/0401020119P01-PO1 quoting log number 0277 of January 22, 2021.

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