James Byrne threw a bottle of water at his co-defendant as he was found guilty of the murder of Jackie Rutter today
James Byrne(Image: Merseyside Police)
A gun toting thug attempted to murder a rival gang member mere months before he shot a nan dead on her own doorstep. Jackie Rutter, a mother-of six and grandmother-of-five, was shot dead aged 53 inside her home on Meadowbrook Road in Moreton, Wirral, back in October 2022.
James Byrne, Barrie Glynn, Simon Allen and David Harrison have been on trial at Liverpool Crown Court over the past three months accused of her murder. The prosecution’s case alleged that the shooting was motivated by an apparent “robbery” or “taxing”, in which Ms Rutter’s sons Peter and Steven reportedly stole a mobile phone which Byrne and another man, Preston Connolly, had been using to conduct their drug dealing business as part of the “JJ Line”.
These two men were then said to have carried out the shooting the following day as Glynn acted as their getaway driver. Allen meanwhile torched the stolen car used by killers, having seemingly performed reconnaissance missions on key locations earlier the same evening.
Harrison’s home was allegedly used as a base of operations on the night in question. A fifth defendant, Anna McGinn, was charged with assisting an offender in connection with the fatal shooting, having driven Byrne and her then boyfriend Connolly home in the aftermath.
But the latter has not been present in the dock, having previously fled the country for Turkey. The jury returned their verdict this afternoon, Wednesday, after 15 hours and 15 minutes of deliberations.
Byrne, Allen and Harrison were unanimously convicted of Jackie’s murder, while Glynn was found guilty of manslaughter by a majority of 10 to two. All four were also unanimously found guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life and arson.
Harrison was seen shaking his head as he was convicted, while Glynn raised his eyebrows as he was found guilty of manslaughter. Having initially shown no reaction to the verdicts, Byrne then threw a seemingly full bottle of Buxton water at Allen as he was led down to the cells.
Allen, who appeared to be struck on the head by the vessel, then responded by shouting “f***ing k***head” and appeared to lunge at his co-defendant, having to be restrained by guards. He continued to struggle at this stage however, saying: “Let me go.”
Simon Allen was found guilty of the murder of Jackie Rutter(Image: Merseyside Police)
McGinn was meanwhile seen to be in tears as she was cleared of assisting an offender and discharged from the dock. Mr Justice Goose, the High Court judge who has been presiding over the trial, will pass sentence tomorrow morning, Thursday.
While jurors heard some details of Byrne’s previous conviction for attempted murder during the trial, the ECHO can now reveal the full extent of the gangland shooting which led to him already serving a life sentence. It came after he and his twin Curtis Byrne formed a “pack” and “hunted” down and shot a rival gang member in the leg.
The two brothers travelled in convoy on electric bikes before locating their target near to a social club and firing six bullets at him. It came after a third defendant, Mason Smith, was hit by a car, as well as another incident which saw a volley of shots fired at a drug dealer in the street.
All three stood trial before the same court accused of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life in July 2024. The Byrnes were unanimously convicted of these charges and returned to the same court for sentencing, although Smith was cleared of both counts and the lesser offence of wounding with intent.
Curtis Byrne(Image: Merseyside Police)
Alex Langhorn told a jury of seven men and five women during the prosecution’s opening that the assailants had left the Byrnes’ mum’s home on Cross Hey Avenue in Noctorum shortly after 10pm on May 11, 2022 “looking for someone from the Ford estate”, also known as Beechwood. They were said to have “found” Mitchell McGraa on Fender Way, where he was seen on CCTV walking beside Beechwood Social Club before three men on electric bicycles approached from the same direction.
The footage showed Curtis Byrne at the front of this group “circling around” before Smith allegedly “tried to knock him off his feet”. Mr McGraa then reportedly “ran for his life” as James Byrne “fired again and again and again”.
The victim was struck once to the back of the thigh, with a bullet becoming lodged within his leg, but was “able to make good his escape” via the rear of a parade of nearby shops. Mr Langhorn said: “The crown says that these three young men set out that night intending to kill. Why else, you may ask, would they set out with a firearm? Why else would they fire not once, not twice, not three times, but again and again and again?”
Jurors heard the shooting came against a background of two opposing groups who were “involved in the supply of controlled drugs”, one located on the Woodchurch estate and one based in Beechwood. The court was told “tensions had been rising since at least 2021” and then “began to get worse”.
One incident on September 7, 2021 supposedly saw Smith chased down the street on his bike by a red Ford Focus before he was struck and left with numerous broken bones. The vehicle was subsequently found burnt out “just to the east of the Ford estate”.
Then, on March 22, 2022, a man called Callum Taylor was shot in the stomach as he allegedly dealt drugs on Hoole Road in Woodchurch. CCTV footage showed him being approached by a grey Ford car before he ran off as a series of five bangs were heard, followed by screams.
This vehicle was also later torched in an eastern area of Beechwood. Mr Taylor was described as being a “close friend” of James Byrne, with the two having lived together in New Ferry at one stage.
Mr Langhorn added: “The crown say that all three of these defendants are connected to the Woodchurch organised crime group. Mitchell McGraa, the man who was to be the target on the 11th of May, is associated with the Ford OCG. On the 11th of May, he was in possession of drugs and he was out on the Ford dealing. That was the motive, the crown suggest, as to why he became targeted.”
The Byrnes and Smith were said to have been shown on CCTV leaving the address on Cross Hey Avenue before being captured on nearby Avelon Close, where James Byrne – who was labelled as “the man in charge” – was shown “pointing where to go” and “pointing the way forward”. Six bullet casings were recovered from outside the social club following the shooting.
Mr McGraa was subsequently taken to Arrowe Park Hospital with a 1cm entry wound to the back of his thigh. He later underwent surgery in order to remove a bullet which had become lodged within his leg.
Police reviewed CCTV footage from the scene and noticed Mr McGraa concealing a bag within bushes before the incident. This was found to contain several wraps of cocaine when recovered by officers.
Following the incident, the Byrnes and Smith were said to have been caught on camera running back to the property on Cross Hey Avenue, having “stashed their bikes elsewhere”. They were never recovered by Merseyside Police.
At around 11pm the same evening, Smith and James Byrne allegedly left for their respective homes on Newark Close in Woodchurch and Thorburn Road in New Ferry in a taxi. The defendants then “dropped” their phone numbers the following day.
Smith was subsequently arrested on May 14, and gave a prepared statement under interview claiming he had “no knowledge or involvement” in the attack and had not been on the Beechwood estate “for at least a year”. Curtis Byrne was detained when PCs attended Cross Hey Avenue on May 19, being seen in a pair of shorts jumping out of a bedroom window.
While he then “tried to run”, he was ultimately caught after falling and later gave no comment when interviewed. James Byrne was quizzed by detectives on July 27 last year but “exercised his right to silence throughout”.
Mr Langhorn added: “We say, when they set out from Cross Hey Avenue just after 10 o’clock armed with a firearm, they intended not only to endanger Mitchell McGraa’s life, but to kill him. This was, we say, a pack from the Woodchurch out hunting someone from the Ford.”
Following his conviction, Byrne’s defence counsel Paul Lazarus would tell the court during his sentencing hearing that his client had a “lack of convictions for violence” and highlighted his young age while arguing that life imprisonment was not necessary. He added: “His childhood was traumatic. His family were made homeless several times. His parents were addicts and, unfortunately, he was placed into care. He was physically abused and neglected, with child social services noting injuries and burns.
“He lost his uncle in a car accident, and his father was murdered when he was 10 years of age. That was the second loss of a father figure by that young age. His mental health problems appear to emanate from that traumatic childhood.”
James Byrne was found guilty of the murder of Jackie Rutter(Image: Merseyside Police)
But both Byrne brothers were ultimately handed life with a minimum term of 18 years and eight months behind bars in September 2024. Sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne said: “These offences were committed against a background of a long standing feud between two gangs in the Wirral. Those gangs were highly territorial, with one based in Woodchurch and one based on the Ford estate.
“I am satisfied and sure that this dispute was rooted in gang rivalry over the trade in illegal drugs in this part of the Wirral and beyond. The offences were the latest in a series of retaliatory, tit for tat incidents of violence. Both gangs were willing to engage in reckless street violence, with no regard for the safety of others.
“Whether he was the intended target or whether the defendants intended to kill any member of the rival gang they happened to come upon is not entirely clear. On any view, Mr McGraa found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Even though it was James Byrne who discharged the firearm, both defendants were active participants in this attack. It was plain that you were both acting with murderous intent.
“The background of gang warfare is a highly aggravating feature in this case. This was a revenge attack, part of a campaign of violence.
“Although the defendants do have a record of criminal convictions, those do not include any offences involving the use of force or violence. On the other hand, there is no particularly compelling mitigation.
“I have regard to the defendants’ challenging backgrounds. I also have regard to the relatively young age of the defendants. However, any reduction in sentence must be modest due to the defendants’ commitment to a criminal lifestyle.
“This is a very serious offence, involving an attempt to shoot and kill another young man, and there are good grounds for believing that you will both be a serious danger to the public that cannot reliably be assessed at this time. This is one of those exceptional cases where a life sentence should be passed.”
James Byrne would then be charged with Ms Rutter’s murder in April 2025. Nigel Power KC then told jurors during the prosecution’s opening as his latest trial began in October: “Nearly three years ago now, on the 30th of October 2022, a lady called Jacqueline Rutter opened the front door to her home address. She was shot in the chest with a gun, which either was or was similar to a Grand Power self-loading pistol, and she died at the scene.
“Jackie Rutter, as she was always known, was a 53-year-old grandmother. But this was no case of mistaken identity. This was a targeted revenge attack in the heat of a dispute over drugs.
Barrie Glynn was found guilty of the manslaughter of Jackie Rutter(Image: Merseyside Police)
“During the trial, you will see CCTV. Three men arrived at her address in a black Vauxhall Insignia car. It was a stolen car. Two passengers were in the back. They got out of the back of the car. They went to Mrs Rutter’s front door.
“When she answered, she was shot twice. One shot missed, one went through her right hand and into her chest. The two men who had gone to her front door got back into the Vauxhall Insignia.
“They went to a nearby street, where they were met by a fourth man. He had been waiting for them with two other vehicles, a silver Ford C-Max and a Yamaha motorbike. Within minutes of the shooting, the Vauxhall Insignia was alight.
“The two men who got out of the car to kill Jackie Rutter were the first defendants in this case, James Byrne, and another man called Preston Connolly. They were involved in a drugs business together and were taking revenge because, the day before, the phone that they used to run the drugs business had been taken from them by Jackie Rutter’s sons, Steven Rutter and Peter Rutter.
“Preston Connolly fled the country. He went to Istanbul from Manchester on the 30th of December 2023. He will have to be tried at a later date, but he is an important figure in the case and you will hear quite a lot about him.
“The driver of the Insignia was Barrie Glynn. He too was a drugs user. He bought drugs from Preston Connolly and James Byrne, and he also helped with the business. Simon Allen and David Harrison provided valuable assistance to the shooters.
David Harrison was found guilty of the murder of Jackie Rutter(Image: Merseyside Police)
“They too were employees of the drugs business, the JJ Line, as it was known. You will see that they played important roles in what happened. Mr Allen was the person who set fire to the Insignia car.
“Anna McGinn, the fifth defendant, was Preston Connolly’s girlfriend. After the murder, she gave lifts to James Byrne and Preston Connolly to help them get away from the locality of the murder and to help them avoid arrest.”