Pet cam killers, 'Pablo Picasso' and corrupt prison officers: the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week

Courts across Greater Manchester handed down significant sentences this week. Here are the key cases.

Anthony Junior Murray: life, minimum 18 years

Murray, 25, murdered his sister's boyfriend Joe Burton with a single "horrific" blow from a combat knife after they rowed about a dog on New Year's Eve. In a "remarkable stroke of luck," the killing was captured on a pet camera Murray had installed in his Bury flat. He claimed self-defence. A jury rejected his case.

Ashley Crowder: life, minimum 25 years

Crowder, 37, "dominated and exploited" popular musician and former DJ Graham Cox, 37, repeatedly attacking him and stealing his benefits before killing him by strangling him. He refused to leave his cell to face the victim's family at Bolton Crown Court during sentencing.

Moven Kajese: extended sentence, 16 years

Kajese was so "fixated" on stabbing his ex-partner that he did not react when police arrived minutes after her 999 call, in which she shouted: "He's stabbing me." A judge branded him "dangerous." He had an "obsession" with true crime cases.

Mohammed Al Masri: eight years

Al Masri, 25, a political refugee from Syria, tricked an "extremely drunk" lone woman into a fake taxi after a Christmas night out, telling her he would take her home in an Uber. He took her to his east Manchester HMO and raped her as a friend watched. The victim said she thought she was "going to die."

Jai Gascoyne and Elle Walton: 16 and 13 months

The two "corrupt" prison officers at HMP Buckley Hall in Rochdale were exposed after Valentine's cards, love heart pendants and Amazon bracelets revealed their inappropriate relationships with drug gang brothers Dil and Haq Nawaz, who were serving long sentences for flooding streets with up to £3 million of Class A drugs.

Warren Barnes: 10 years six months

The fugitive drugs kingpin called himself "Pablo Picasso" on encrypted platforms, boasting he was a "cocaine artist." He lived the high life in Dubai, Spain and Canada for four and a half years while directing his criminal network back in the UK. Associates Paul Taylor, 49, from Swinton, got five years three months, and his son Adam Taylor, 25, from Eccles, got three years.

Carl and Josh Threadgill: 26 and 24 months

The Wigan and Warrington brothers were caught trying to smuggle suitcases stuffed with cannabis through Manchester Airport. A senior NCA officer revealed more than 30 tonnes of cannabis have been seized since 2022 following a huge increase in smuggling from Thailand after the drug was legalised there.

Joel Wolfenden and Graham Cooke: seven years 10 months and eight years 11 months

The pair filmed themselves in a Range Rover they had just stolen from driveways in Gorton and Levenshulme. Associate Kamran Khan, 36, was filmed dancing inside a lock-up where stolen cars were kept.

Other cases

Abubakr Yusaf, 31, from Manchester, was jailed for 14 years for causing the death of Rhys Jenkins in a head-on collision while racing his brother home on a Welsh road. Deacon Hart, 21, from Wigan, got two years for slashing a pensioner's neck after being told not to ride his motorbike on a pedestrian bridge. Kie Connor, 24, from Eccles, got three years eight months after 31 stun guns were found at his home, which he claimed were "just toys." Deborah Swift, 54, a "serial fraudster" who "always gets caught," was jailed for two years eight months for stealing more than £25,000 from a golf club and equestrian centre.