Ellen Sweeney, 41, is still at large even after her husband and teenage son were sent to jail
Thomas Sweeney junior, Ellen Sweeney and Thomas Sweeney senior
A mum-of-12 is still on the run over a massive scrap in Birmingham – even after her husband and teenage son were arrested and jailed.
West Midlands Police continues to hunt Ellen Sweeney who was heavily involved in wild scenes which erupted in the Gay Village in July 2023.
The fracas, which was captured on crystal clear CCTV footage, was branded ‘one of the worst’ fights to ever take place in the city centre by a judge.
READ MORE: Birmingham dad ‘blatantly shouts out ridiculous things’ as he’s finally jailed after a year on run
Sweeney, along with her husband Thomas Sweeney senior and teenage son Thomas Sweeney junior, attended initial hearings at Birmingham Crown Court and pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
Through their lawyers, they pleaded for mercy and to be kept on bail before being sentenced so they could apparently attend Thomas junior’s wedding.
But in August 2024 they failed to show up to court and remained at large a month later when they were sentenced to terms of immediate imprisonment in their absence.
It was suspected they had fled back to Ireland but there were no updates on their whereabouts for nearly a year.
That prompted Judge Dean Kershaw, who presided over the case, to demand answers as to what was being done to track them as he declared ‘the public are entitled to know’.
It was soon confirmed the authorities had a number of addresses for the family and were seeking to obtain European arrest warrants.
But then there were significant breakthroughs in January.
Thomas Sweeney senior and junior
Thomas Sweeney junior, now 19, was arrested by Cheshire Police in a car on the M6.
A few days later Thomas Sweeney senior, now 44, handed himself in.
Both have since been jailed and given extra prison time for failing to surrender to bail back in 2024.
But Ellen Sweeney, now 41, remains at large.
West Midlands Police issued a statement to Birmingham Live saying: “A warrant is out for the arrest of Ellen Sweeney who is wanted for failing to appear at court following a sentence for a violent disorder.
“Enquiries continue and people who may know her whereabouts should ring us on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”
FULL STORY: Mum of 12 and family on the run after one of the worst Birmingham city centre fights ever seen
Ellen Sweeney had been at the centre of violence which unfolded in the early hours of July 15, 2023 and involved at least seven of her relatives.
It initially appeared she was trying to protect a man being battered on the floor by her husband and son, before she was dragged away and left sprawling in the road.
A few minutes later she got involved in a verbal altercation with a woman before punching her in the face and allegedly calling her a ‘whore’.
As that incident developed the female victim’s friend was slashed across the chest with a piece of glass by someone.
Ellen Sweeney was later captured on camera swinging further punches at someone.
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After court proceedings began she had acted as the point of contact for the family, who moved out of their address at Kitts Green Road, Stechford, to a property in Croydon, London.
She last checked in at Lavender Hill Police Station on August 13, 2024.
The three Sweeneys then effectively disappeared and failed to turn up for sentencing on August 29 that year.
Solicitors managed to contact Ellen Sweeney the previous day and she told them they were in Scotland visiting family. But an investigation of her phone showed the device was in the Republic of Ireland.
An incensed Judge Kershaw branded them ‘cowards’ as he jailed them in their absence.
Re-sentencing Thomas Sweeney junior last month he told the teenager the family had thrown the compassion shown to them ‘completely in the face of the court’.
He was handed two months for failing to surrender on top of the two years and four months he had been sentenced to for violent disorder.
In a separate hearing a few days later the judge ordered Thomas Sweeney senior to be taken out of the court dock and down to the cells for ‘shouting out ridiculous things’.
The dad erupted in anger after his claims he fled Birmingham out of fears for his own safety were rejected as ‘nonsense’. Thomas senior was handed an additional three months to the two years and ten months he received for violent disorder.
As it stands Ellen Sweeney is facing an immediate term of imprisonment for one year and 11 months. She is yet to start serving it.