unsolved murders that haunt Merseyside
There are a total of 107 unsolved murders across Merseyside where evil killers have evaded justice. Many of the cases remain open despite major advances in forensic science and policing techniques.
Each case has been the subject of a major police investigation with some of them dating back to the pre-war era and others in the last decade. Cases include many seemingly random attacks, usually on women, carried out by strangers, as well as violent robberies, gangland killings, and contract murders.
The exclusive list was sourced from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every police force in the country, and supported with research through a wide variety of local newspaper archives.
However, due to the limits of the ECHO's online archive, only 58 of those cases could be included in this list. Below is every unsolved murder the ECHO has covered online since 2001.
Rose Johnston
Merseyside's most recent unsolved murder is that of 68-year-old Rose Johnston. The seemingly "normal and quiet" grandmother was brutally murdered at her home on Ancroft Road in Dovecot.
Police were called to Rose's home at around 12.35pm on Saturday, October 4 and her death sparked a huge murder probe, however despite extensive enquiries her killer remains at large. So far, all officers know is that she died as a result of a "blunt force head injury" and now a £20,000 reward is being offered for information that could help find those anticipated answers for Rose's grieving family.
Crimestoppers, which is independent of the police, is supporting the investigation by offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information the charity exclusively receives – either online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800 555 111 at any time – that leads to the arrest of those responsible for Rose’s murder.
Merseyside Police has revealed its latest developments in its murder probe. Rose was last seen alive at her home in the early hours of Friday, October 3, police say, and they are appealing for anyone who saw her or anyone acting suspiciously in the area of Ancroft Road between October 3 and 4 to come forward.
Alice Barton
The oldest case in Merseyside is from 1955. On September 24, 1955, Alice Barton, 49, was found strangled, her body mutilated and then dumped in a wartime pillbox.
Just before noon on Saturday, September 24, 1955, 11-year-old Peter Williams, a pupil at Grange secondary school, left his parents home at Walby Close on the Woodchurch estate, Birkenhead, and set off to pick blackberries. Peter and his friends headed for a railway embankment on the north side of the estate, where an old concrete pillbox lay.
He looked inside and saw what he thought was a shop-window dummy, however on closer inspection, he was horrified to find it was the body of a woman, with clothes piled on top of her face and three obscene words scrawled on her torso.
However it emerged that Alice had drifted into the dangerous world of sex work after leaving her husband John Barton. It was Mr Barton, who had not seen his wife since 1943, who came forward to identify her body.
Enquiries found Alice would often take her regular customers, believed to have been mostly truck drivers, to the pillbox. Police began a massive manhunt for Alice's killer, scouring the area for clues and making door-to-door inquiries.
Over 40,000 people were also quizzed regarding the murder, however the line of inquiry went cold until 2010, when a woman came forward and claimed the killer was her grandfather. She describes the suspicion her grandfather – her dad’s father – who frequented a pub just minutes away from the murder scene, was involved in the killing.
George Price and Mark Thompson
George Price, 34, was shot, stabbed and set on fire in a field in Ince Blundell on April 2nd 2000. He was killed along with his 30-year-old friend Mark Thompson, who suffered the same horrific injuries.
In an appeal in 2001, George's wife Nicola said: "His birthday last year was one of the worst days of our lives. We were wondering why it happened then. Now we really need to know why it happened."
Despite an international investigation, police are still trying to piece together what happened after the men were last seen at 7.10pm on Monday, April 2nd, and 12.30am the next day when they were found. The last confirmed sighting of both men was in a maroon Vauxhall Astra estate, registration S921 ORN, which was driven from Newark Close into Knowsley Lane, Huyton.
They were then seen with a third man carrying a shooting target into a nearby field.
The men, from Huyton, who have never been linked to any gun-related incidents, were beaten, knifed and shot before they were dumped face down in the field near Crosby. Their bodies had been doused with petrol and set on fire.
Ray Shearwood
It has now been 18 years since Ray Shearwood, a dad-of-three and former boxer, vanished without a trace after pulling into a pub car park in Maghull. On August 19, 2007, the 36-year-old spent the morning with his eight-year-old daughter before dropping her off at her mum's home.
Later that day, at around 4.45pm, he drove to the Alt Park pub on Northway in his green Ford Mondeo. CCTV footage captured him parking in the pub's car park and walking towards a parked Volkswagen Golf - believed to be the last time he was ever seen.
Despite a police investigation and several public appeals, no substantial leads have ever emerged. The trail went cold quickly, and although a body has never been found, detectives are convinced of one thing: Ray Shearwood is no longer alive.
Julie Finley
On August 6, 1994, the naked body of 23-year-old Julie Finley was found by a cyclist near the A540 Rainford Bypass. Her killer had made no attempt to conceal her remains.
The brutal murder has never been solved and in 2018 her heartbroken dad, Albie Finley, went to his grave without seeing justice. According to the Mirror, Merseyside Police opened an investigation into Halliwell in 2020, but no charges have followed as yet.
Julie was last seen alive at around 10.30pm on August 5, 1994, near the Royal Liverpool Hospital. She was talking to a white man, of average build, aged in his 20s or 30s.
A witness who came forward at the time said he saw a young woman arguing with a man at about 12.30am on August 6 outside the Wheatsheaf public house in Rainford, just yards from where her body was found. The unknown man was attempting to force the young woman into a white Transit van.
Paul Pike
The girlfriend of a man ran screaming for help after he was killed in front of her in a drive-by shooting.
Paul Pike, from Belle Vale, was behind the wheel of his red Ford transit van, on June 5, 2010, with his girlfriend as the passenger. As he stopped at red traffic lights, on Crosby Road North, Waterloo, near the Liver pub, a stolen silver Audi TT pulled up next to him, at around 11.20pm.
The next minute shots were fired from the Audi, hitting both the van and Paul multiple times. The car then sped off, before doubling back and firing additional shots at the 23-year-old.
Paul died from his injuries at the scene, however, his girlfriend managed to survive the assault and she fled from the van and ran, screaming for help into the Liver pub.
She suffered only minor cuts in the attack, caused by shattering from a window on the van. At the time, a police officer present at the murder scene said she was "extremely lucky" to have survived the attack.
The Audi TT was later discovered burnt out in Fairfield, off Endbutt Lane, following the incident on the evening of June 5, 2010. 14 years post the shooting, his murderers remain at large.
Kyle Whitley
It has been five years since an 18-year-old dad was viciously stabbed to death inside his own flat after he refused to sell drugs. Kyle Whitley died on April 13 2020 - Easter Monday - after being stabbed in the chest by an unknown assailant inside his flat on Vincent Road in Litherland.
Kyle, who had recently had his first child, was found collapsed in a nearby alleyway. The "vulnerable" teenager, who had been living independently for around six months in the flat after his recent move out of the care system, died of a single stab wound to the chest in Aintree University Hospital less than an hour later.
Six people were arrested in connection with his killing, and three of them, including a 17-year-old St Helens boy, remained under investigation - however, no charges were ever brought.
Jamie Starkey
A man was gunned down in the street outside his house after he went to his car to get Christmas presents. Jamie Starkey was shot six times, outside his house on Higher Lane in Fazakerley, by a man in dark clothes, shortly before 8pm on Sunday December 2, 2012. Moments before his cold-blooded murder Jamie had shared an affectionate kiss and hug with his seven-year-old sister and made plans to decorate the family's Christmas tree.
Seconds later, at around 7.50pm, he lay fatally injured on the roadside after being shot four times in the chest and twice in the head. The gunman approached and shot Jamie as he stood by his car outside his home before running off towards the nearby playing fields. A post-mortem established Jamie died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.
Since the murder, five men have been arrested and the weapon used to kill Mr Starkey has been recovered – but no-one has yet been convicted of the killing.
Daniel Keatingue
Daniel Keatinge, of Higher Lane, Fazakerley, was shot four times in the stomach by a teenage assassin on January 30, 2009.
Despite police offering a £££10,000 reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest, they have not been given any successful leads. Police were called to Formosa Road, Fazakerley, at 7.30pm on January 30 to find the 25-year-old dying from gunshot wounds after he was blasted at close range.
He had just got out of his car and was walking to a friend’s house when he was shot. Two friends were stood over him as police arrived. He was taken to hospital but died a short time later.
The gunman, described as being aged between 16 and 20, ran away in the direction of Eagle Dene, Fazakerley, on a footpath leading off Formosa Road.
He is white and was wearing dark clothing, and a black Lowe Alpine hat. It is believed his face may also have been covered by a scarf. Detectives say the shooting was a targeted attack, but the motive remains unknown.
Henry McHarron
It has been 18 years since Henry McHarron was killed while carrying out newspaper deliveries on Stopgate Lane in Norris Green. The 61-year-old was thrown from his van after a thief leapt behind the wheel and sped off at around 6am on April 21 2007.
The dad-of-three, who was a part-time deliveryman for WH Smith’s news distribution, suffered serious head injuries in the fall. He was taken to Aintree Hospital, where he died two days later.
His family - wife Christina, daughters Lynne and Claire, and son Neil - issued a desperate appeal for information at the time. A 22-year-old Fazakerley man was questioned in connection with the murder, but nobody was ever charged. Now, 18 years later, the investigation into Henry's death appears to have gone cold.
Christina died in 2022 at the age of 78, having never learned the identity of the person who killed her husband. But his children still hope their dad's killer will one day face justice.
James Stanton
A grandad of eight was executed by masked gunmen in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.
The murder of James Stanton in 2006 sent shockwaves through Merseyside due to the brutality of the murder - and nearly 19-years on his killers have never been caught. Mr Stanton was shot in the back of the head as he sat in his office at Aintree Commercial Vehicles on Ormskirk Road.
The dad of four and grandad of eight also suffered gunshot wounds to the back when the balaclava-clad gunmen burst into the business at around 6pm on July 24, 2006. He died of his injuries five hours later leaving his devastated widow, Jean, and loving extended family behind.
Mr Stanton, who was 58 when he was killed, was a popular squash coach and Jujitsu instructor. No definitive motive has ever emerged for his killing.
Barry Bailey
A dad was set on fire outside his home days after the windows of his taxi and house were smashed in a "terrifying campaign of intimidation". Barry Bailey was 42 when he was set on fire outside his family home Chapel Avenue, Walton, in the early hours of November 15, 1994.
Mr Bailey, whose surname was sometimes written as Ballie in early newspaper reports, had just got out of his Austin Montego private hire car after a night's work when he was ambushed by a group of men who poured a flammable liquid over him before setting him alight. The "fireball attack" that left Bailey with 80% burns was the culmination of what people claimed was a campaign of intimidation in the days before his death.
Four people were arrested in connection with the murder - but 31 years on, no one has been charged. Merseyside Police said the force remains committed to "investigating all information which may help find anyone who was responsible for the horrific murder of Barry Bailey".
Joseph Cummins
25-year-old Joey was shot dead outside his nan's home in Fazakerley where he lived. The massive Liverpool FC fan was getting in a Delta cab, driven by his friend, but his killer was largely hidden because of the foggy weather conditions.
His killer made their escape under cover of thick fog and, despite a long investigation and witness appeals from Joseph's devastated family, was never found.
The January 20, 2011, tragedy on Longmoor Lane became knows as the "Murder in the Mist."
Paula Hounslea
The body of a mum was found in a fire pit near a disused railway line years after she went missing. Paula Hounslea was uncovered by a dog walker near the loop line cycle path in Fazakerley in May 2012 - three years after she went missing from her West Derby home. Paula, who was 37 at the time of her disappearance, worked as a bartender and seamstress and lived with her only daughter Lois on Culme Road.
Paula had gone to the Phoenix Palace on West Derby Road, known as Chows, for a family meal the day before her disappearance. The following morning, August 22, 2009, Lois claimed Paula had told her she was going to stay with a friend called Vicky for a few days.
That evening Lois received a text message from Paula's phone confirming the plans, and Vicky also received a message supposedly sent by Paula saying she was going away, it read: "I need to go away for a few days. I am sorry x". But the alarm was raised when it was discovered Paula was not with Vicky and had not called her parents, which was said to be out of character.
Paula's cash card was used to withdraw a total of £££850 following her disappearance. Merseyside Police said both Paula and her daughter knew the pin number for the card. In June 2012, the month after Paula's burnt remains were found, Lois and her boyfriend Kevin Kavanagh, then aged 21 and 20 respectively, were arrested on suspicion of murder.
They were bailed the following day, and Paula's house was sealed off for forensic examinations. But Kevin and Lois were released without charge in August 2013 due to insufficient evidence. Police said the case remains open.
Paul Mooney
A dad-of-three was gunned down just two weeks after getting divorced as he stayed at his friend's house - and his killer has never been caught. Paul Mooney was staying with a friend during the early hours in a bungalow on Helston Road in Croxteth.
Paul, who was 35 at the time of his death, was shot in the chest with a shotgun while lying on the couch at Mark Rae's house on November 13, 2004. Three teens were arrested soon after the killing before being charged and pleading not guilty to not murder.
Following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court in 2006, the three accused were found not guilty by a jury. Reports from the time tell how Paul was involved in the buying and selling of drugs at the time of his death but detectives quickly ruled out a gangland-style killing. More than 20 years on, his killer has never been brought to justice.
Stephen Lloyd
The case of a helpless dad who was gunned down outside his place of work remains unsolved nearly 19 years on.
Dad-of-one Stephen Lloyd was shot at as he sat in his Renault Kangoo van outside MWM Services on Redfern Street, Bootle, at around 5.10pm on Thursday, July 13 2006. The 25-year-old, who was shot a number of times in the chest, tried to drive the few yards back into his workplace to get help from his colleagues but died moments later.
Gunshots rang out along the street and nearby workers rushed to the scene where they found Stephen's body in his van with the windows blasted out. It is believed his killers lay in wait, knowing he would be leaving work.
The masked gunman and his accomplice escaped from the scene in a white Ford Transit van. Minutes later they dumped and torched the van in nearby Bedford Street.
Craig Eaton
A man who dedicated his life to saving children was shot dead in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.
Craig Eaton was mercilessly fatally shot 20 years ago today on Saturday, February 24 2004, as he walked to a friend's house. The shooting took place on Molyneux Road in Kensington, near to the junction with Mallow Road.
Police believe the murder case was a case of mistaken identity. Craig, who was just 22-years-old when he died, was an Alder Hey Children's Hospital carer and on the night he was killed was mourning the loss of one of his patients.
Twenty years on from Craig's murder, police are still urging people to come forward with information which will bring Craig's killer to justice. On the night of the murder it is believed that Craig, who was wearing a black cardigan over a light blue shirt, black trousers, and black shoes, got on the number 26 Arriva bus on Belmont Road. He travelled to Sheil Road, Kensington and was sat near to the front of the bus.
It is believed Craig got off at the bus stop on Sheil Road, just before the junction with Molyneux Road, between 11.05pm and 11.15pm. But whoever shot Craig after he left the bus remains a mystery.
Joseph Thompson
A "wall of silence" has repeatedly shielded a gunman who executed a dad as he walked in the street.
Joseph Thompson died from multiple gunshot wounds in 2012 after a gunman showered him and a friend with bullets in Norris Green. The 32-year-old was on Ravensthorpe Green on June 14 when he and 27-year-old friend Kevin Murray were shot at. Paramedics treated both at the scene, but the dad-of-four was declared dead.
His friend survived after being rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds to his upper body. Thompson was known to police and was a notable member of the Strand Gang, who took their name from the row of shops on Scargreen Lane, close to where he was gunned down.
One of the biggest issues in finding answers - and one that plagued the force during the various conflicts across parts of Merseyside in the early part of the century - was a lack of community intelligence. Despite the gangs in L11 making up a tiny percentage of the otherwise proud and respectable population, hardworking families found it impossible to speak to the police without fear of serious repercussions.
Merseyside Police issued a £££20,000 reward in return for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the gunmen. The case remains unsolved as of 2025.
Terence 'Terry' Dunn
It took three months for Terry Dunn's body to give up after he was horrifically beaten with a golf club in a targeted attack. Six years on no one has been brought to justice, with his sister now unable to enjoy her life as she pleads for people to come forward with information.
Terry was subjected to a horrific street attack on the afternoon of June 18, 2019 by a thug wielding a golf club. The 49-year-old spent 12 weeks in Aintree University Hospital recovering from his catastrophic injuries but died on September 24 that year due to medical complications.
Terry, a keen fisherman who often spent his days down at Larkhill Park, known in the area as the Ducky, left his flat at around 3.30pm on the day of the attack to make one of his regular trips to withdraw money from the Credit Union. Around 10 minutes later he reached Kilrea Close, but he was being followed.
A witness nearby saw Terry being chased into an alleyway, where he was then subjected to a vicious attack by the thug. The suspect was challenged by a member of the public and ran down a cut-through in the direction of the Loop Line. The suspect is described as a white man, 5ft 7in, in his 20s and wearing dark clothing with the hood up.
Terry suffered a ruptured spleen and multiple shattered bones. Doctors originally believed he had been stabbed - only for further investigations to reveal his broken arm bone had punctured his own rib cage.
Four people have been arrested in connection with Terry's death, but no one has ever been charged.
Lucy Hargreaves
Mum-of-three Lucy Hargreave was murdered inside her family home on Lambourne Avenue, Walton, in the early hours of August 3 2005. The 22-year-old was asleep on the sofa when three men gained access to her house. She was shot three times with a sawn-off shotgun before the thugs doused her duvet in petrol and set the house alight.
The flames engulfed the home forcing her partner, who had been sleeping upstairs and their two-year-old daughter to escape through an upstairs window. Twenty-one people have been arrested in connection with Lucy's murder over the years but no one has been convicted. Police consider Kevin Parle the prime suspect in the case - and in the killing of 16-year-old Liam Kelly in the Dingle a year earlier.
Despite extensive efforts from investigators to return him to Merseyside to face charges for both murders, Parle remains at large. He is currently Britain's most wanted fugitive.
Peter Singleton
A hitman who brutally murdered a Merseyside car dealer in front of his young son and girlfriend has never been caught. Peter Singleton, 26, was attacked in the car park of his luxury apartment in West Kirby on March 27, 2003.
He was chatting to his girlfriend, who has asked not to be named, with their two-year-old son in the car, when they were approached by a man wearing a balaclava and carrying a handgun.
Mr Singleton ran across the road but the gunman chased him and the pair fought in the front gardens of three houses.
His child and partner watched helplessly as the masked gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol. Mr Singleton was hit in the head and chest. His girlfriend screamed hysterically, clutching the toddler, as neighbours rushed to her aid.
A doctor and a retired police officer, who live in the same block of flats at Column Road, West Kirby, rushed to help as the young dad lay dying by the roadside. He was later declared dead by doctors at Arrowe Park Hospital. Mr Singleton’s teenage sweetheart witnessed the killing but their little boy is thought to have been spared the horrific sight.
The masked killer sped from the scene in a white van seen driving off along Grange Cross Lane. It was later found burnt out on a dirt track behind Westry Close, Leasowe.
Police have never been able to pinpoint a motive for Mr Singleton’s murder. Because of the nature of the shooting, detectives have to believe it was a targeted attack.
But early rumours that the shooting was drugs-related were quickly ruled out, leaving the investigation team with very little to go on.
Eddie Pybis
Eddie Pybis was gunned down more in Anfield than a decade ago, on 3 January 2011.
The then-20-year-old was sitting in the front passenger seat of a silver Volvo on Utting Avenue when shots rang out from a passing vehicle. Eddie suffered a chest wound and died due to his injuries six days later in hospital.
On the 14th anniversary of his death, detectives, who have previously said they believe the identity of those behind the shooting is well known among the city’s gangland underworld, made a further re-appeal.
Merseyside Police’s investigation team are “particularly keen” to trace the driver of a black BMW 7 series, registration number DX57 UHU, that they believe was used by those who shot Eddie Pybis Officers have also appealed for information about an incident that happened at around 1.30 pm earlier that day (January 3) in Larkhill Close, which involved a silver Ford Focus with a registration plate NH57 HKX and a dark-coloured saloon car..
Susan Kelly
Until the age of 24, Susan Kelly had been a bright, happy young woman from Litherland who dreamed of working with the disabled and held down jobs in a care home and behind the bar of a nightclub.
But in the mid 1980s she began to suffer from severe mental illness, and her life descended into chaos and drug addiction. Despite her daughter's challenges, Cathy Kelly, from Bootle, could never have imagined the events of September 4, 2000, when a dog walker made a disturbing discovery in an alley off Blessington Road, Anfield.
The body of a young woman had been dumped with her throat cut and bearing the hallmarks of a brutal, sustained beating. According to reports from the time, the woman had suffered 29 injuries, including a broken nose and jaw and six broken ribs.
The body was later identified as Susan, then 38-years-old. Since then, Cathy has waited in vain for Susan's killers to be caught - but the wait has turned from months, to years, to decades. There was a false dawn in 2003, when a man was charged with murder and went to trial at Liverpool Crown Court. However that trial dramatically collapsed when Judge Douglas Brown dismissed the charges, and the killer remains at large.
Ian Clarke
The killer of a man who was gunned down at traffic lights has never been caught. Ian Clarke, 32, suffered up to seven gunshot wounds and battled for five days on a lifesupport machine.
He died at 10.45 on September 13 2001 from internal injuries caused by at least two shots to the chest. Detectives investigated the possibility the murder was a "revenge attack" for the killing of Steven Lawlor, 34, in May 2001.
Mr Lawlor was shot several times while leaving a party in Rosewood Close, Netherley, in the early hours and died in hospital. Mr Clarke's brother Peter, 23, a corporal with the King's Regiment in Harrogate, faces trial accused of Steven Lawlor's murder.
Ian Clarke, who worked for Widnes-based Premiere Security with his brother Stephen providing security for pubs, clubs and businesses across Merseyside, was in a black Vauxhall Vectra when he was attacked.
He had stopped at traffic lights at the junction of Rocky Lane and Belmont Road in Tuebrook shortly after 10pm on Saturday. A dark Ford Mondeo drew up alongside and a gunman opened fire.
More than 20 years on, the killer has never been caught.
Danny McDonald
A man suspected to be a leading figure in the notorious Crocky Crew gang was gunned down inside a busy pub sparking a string of revenge attacks.
Danny McDonald, 20, was drinking with friends inside the crowded pub on January 1 2004 when a man, with his hood pulled up and a ski mask covering his face, calmly walked in and fired four shots at point blank range with a powerful handgun. Punters inside the busy pub ran for cover while Mr McDonald staggered towards the door before collapsing on the floor.
The attack happened just before 5pm on New Year's Day, and resulted in Mr McDonald's friend, John-Paul Cummins, 19, undergoing emergency surgery at what was then known as Fazakerley Hospital. The pair had been friends since they were in the same class at Our Lady's & St Swithin R C Primary School.
After the brutal attack, the masked gunman fled from the pub. Merseyside Police detectives held the 60 witnesses inside the building and took statements. At the time, it was widely reported the 20-year-old's murder was the result of a number of petty disputes between rival north Liverpool gangs. This very public gangland execution marked a terrifying raising of the stakes. The murder prompted a number of revenge attacks. To this day, no one has been convicted of his murder.
Mark Corkhill
Mark John Corkhill, 38, was shot in the the legs several times and bled to death in Dam Wood, Croxteth, 18 February 2008.
The body of Mr Corkhill, who was known to police as a petty criminal, was found by a dog walker.
Despite several arrests, the person responsible for his murder at Dam Wood has still not been found.
Nicky Ayers
It has been 15 years since a dad-of-two was gunned down outside his mother-in-law's home in West Derby. But the name of the cold-blooded killer who ended his life remains a mystery.
Sunday league football manager Nicky Ayers, 46, had spent the evening before his murder watching Crimewatch on television - with no idea he was about to become the victim of a crime that would remain unsolved for more than a decade.
After having dinner at a relative's house, he left around 9.30pm and went to meet a friend on nearby Meadow Lane. At 11.30pm he went to a chip shop, and returned to his mother-in-law's address, on South Cantril Avenue, in his green Land Rover Discovery.
It was there he came face-to-face with his killer in the early hours of April 29. 2010. The unidentified gunman shot Nicky seven times at close-range before fleeing the scene.
A total of 17 people have been arrested by detectives investigating the murder over the years, but nobody has ever been charged in connection with the case.
Karl Bradley
The murder of a man whose body was found covered in snow, has not been solved 12 years on.
Karl Bradley was shot four times and his body was found in a garden on Penshaw Close in West Derby on the morning of March 22, 2013. Police believe Mr Bradley was shot dead at around 11pm of March 21.
One of the bullets fired missed Mr Bradley and lodged in the wall of a nearby house. Mr Bradley's body was not found until around 7am the following day.
His murder remains unsolved and this week marked the tenth anniversary of his death. No picture of Mr Bradley or family statement has ever been released to the media.
Two children were upstairs at the time, and a man downstairs, as the shot hit a window of the "innocent family-of-four". But it wasn't until eight hours later, at about 7am, the following morning, that Mr Bradley's body was found in the back garden of a nearby address.
At the time of Mr Bradley's murder, Merseyside Police said they believed it was an execution-style attack which was targeted. The ongoing investigation did lead to the arrest of four people on suspicion of Mr Bradley's murder, however no charges followed.
Gary Watkinson
Detectives remain hopeful they can bring the thugs behind a petrol bomb murder to justice two decades on from their crime. Gary Watkinson died from injuries suffered when his Liverpool home was set alight in the chilling early morning attack.
His loss caused heartbreak for his family, who remember him as a " loving and kind brother with a great sense of humour". Mr Watkinson lived with his partner in a ground floor flat in Tuebrook when fire ripped through the property just before 6am on November 25, 2000.
The flames were so severe it took investigators almost two months to establish the Kremlin Drive home had been the subject of arson. Mr Watkinson, who was 37, was placed in a coma and died from his injuries days before Christmas.
Shortly after, in early 2001, the investigation was upgraded to a murder inquiry after Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service established the fire had been sparked by a petrol bomb.
Arrests were made in the early stages of that probe, but no-one has been charged with what detectives believe was a targeted attack.
Thomas 'Tommy' Baker
The identity of the gunman who carried out one of the most sinister murder plots on Merseyside in recent years remains a mystery. Thomas ‘Tommy’ Baker was shot dead as he left a gym five years ago.
Detectives today appealed for anyone with details that could help his family get justice to contact police. Mr Baker was shot in the head and chest by a killer who had been lying in wait.
The 44-year-old was leaving Phoenix Gym, based in the Stanley Meat Market complex, at around 8.15am when he was attacked as he approached his black BMW.
The gunman fled the scene in a silver Volkswagen Polo that had been parked next to his victim’s car. He is thought to have been behind the driver’s wheel as the vehicle turned right onto Prescot Road before being driven down Balmoral Road, through side streets onto Queens Road and towards Everton Valley.
Police believe the attack on Mr Baker, who was from Everton, was targeted. The investigation into the murder has led to five people being questioned.
But five years on, no one has been charged with any criminal offence in connection with the shooting.
Edward Byrne
A grandad who spent his days pottering around the garden was shot dead by an unknown gunman when he walked into his local pub for a pint.
Edward Byrne had spent the day with his family before heading to his local, the Yew Tree Pub in Finch Lane, Dovecot, on January 3 2003 to see if any of his old friends were around for a New Year drink. The 66-year-old from West Derby was a former builder who enjoyed his retirement by gardening and spending time with his six-month-old grandson.
But despite the unassuming day-to-day life, the pensioner met his fate in the most violent and devastating way. A man, described as "muscular" by eyewitnesses, walked into the pub at around 11.20pm and strode purposely over to Mr Byrne, who was standing at the bar.
The gunman, dressed in dark blue tracksuit bottoms, a light top, white baseball cap, and with a thick, chequered scarf partially covering his face, shouted a "personal insult" at Mr Byrne before pulling out a gun and shooting him in the head from around five feet away.
Mr Byrne dropped to the ground in a pool of blood while punters, many of whom were friends with the 66-year-old, watched on. The disguised gunman turned and fled the pub. The grandad was rushed to Whiston Hospital where he was confirmed dead a short time later.
Adam Ellison
On November 4 2017, 29-year-old Adam Ellison was walking home through Prescot town centre after what should have been a carefree evening out with friends. It was the early hours of the morning - a night that began with laughter and plans for the future, but ended in tragedy.
After leaving a local pub, Adam began walking home through Market Place with his friends. It was around 12.40am when a green and white Kawasaki KX 85 Big Wheel scrambler bike carrying two men rode towards the group. The motorbike came dangerously close to hitting them.
Words were exchanged. Within moments, one of the men on the bike stabbed Adam in the neck with an unknown weapon.
The riders sped off towards Tesco on Sewell Street, leaving Adam bleeding in the street as his horrified friends and passers-by rushed to help. People nearby did everything they could to save him.
Shop staff brought out blue roll to try to stem the bleeding while emergency services raced to the scene. Adam was rushed to hospital, but despite doctors’ best efforts, he was pronounced dead shortly after 2am.
Despite numerous arrests and hundreds of lines of enquiry, no one has been charged in connection with the murder, and eight years on his family are still waiting for justice
Margaret Briers
Margaret Briers, 82, died days after the bogus policeman threw her to floor and dragged her into the living room of her bungalow in Caldbeck Grove, Rainford on March 30, 2008.
He ripped out her phone cable and left her lying in agony on the floor after ransacking her home and stealing a money box containing £££16.
She later contracted bronchitis from the cold floor and died three days later in hospital as a direct result of her injuries.
The violent attacker has never been found.
Ryan Lamb
A young dad was stabbed to death but no one has been held accountable, an inquest heard. Ryan Lamb, from St Helens, was stabbed during a violent incident in Greenbank, St Helens, on April 23 2017.
Emergency services were called to the area behind the Phoenix Inn, on Canal Street, at around 5.25pm that day. The 20-year-old was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, along with two other men who were also believed to have suffered stab wounds.
At an inquest into the dad-of-one's death, which was held at Sefton Coroner's Court at Bootle Town Hall today, Wednesday, September 18, the court heard Ryan suffered catastrophic knife wounds to his chest, which pierced his heart, and abdomen and was rushed to Whiston Hospital.
Following surgery, Ryan was placed on life support however he never regained consciousness and tragically died on April 26. Julie Goulding, Senior Coroner for Sefton, St Helens and Knowsley, told the hearing Ryan's cause of death was multiple organ failure including hypoxic brain injury, cardiac arrest with resuscitation and stab wounds to his chest and abdomen.
Following the stabbing, three men were arrested in connection with Ryan's death. However, a decision was made by the Crown Prosecution Service in November 2017 that no further action should be taken against the men.
John Haselden
The case of a car dealer who was left dying in a hospital car park with a bullet wound to his head is still being investigated by police.
John Haselden, 23, was found slumped in a Ford Escort Cabriolet parked in the grounds of Whiston hospital on December 1, 1997.
Doctors were unable to save the life of Mr Haselden, who had been shot in the head.
Mr Haselden had been left at the scene by a group of men who drove off in a separate car, police said at the time. Police confirmed Mr Haselden's death is still being treated as an 'unsolved murder' by the force.
John Greenwood and Gary Miller
When a dog walker wandered through the debris of an old colliery on a Saturday night four decades ago he made a discovery that would shake a town to its core.
Beneath a mattress at what was by then a rubbish tip he discovered two schoolboys with head injuries so severe the wounds would, tragically, prove fatal. Forty two years later that land is now one of Merseyside's most popular parks and the scene of childhood games and family fun every day.
But while the tip is long gone, the terrible murders of John Greenwood and Gary Miller still haunts Stadt Moers Park in Whiston to this day. And the killer responsible for the deaths has still not been held to account despite the determined efforts of multiple generations of the boys' families.
It was around 7.20pm on August 16, 1980, when the passer-by found John and Gary. Emergency services were called and they were both rushed to Whiston Hospital. Staff fought to help them but John died in the early hours of the following day and Gary succumbed to his injuries three days later.
A post mortem, held to establish the cause of their deaths, confirmed both died as a result of the head wounds they were found with. Unanswered questions and unresolved lines of enquiry remain to this day. A man was arrested and charged with their murders. He was cleared after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court. No-one else has faced prosecution.
Carl Russell
A man who was gunned down in broad daylight was on resettlement day release from prison and chiefs at the cells found out he had died when they rang his partner. Carl Russell was shot dead by a high-vis wearing gunman while he visited his family during day release from HMP Thorn Cross on October 7, 2018.
The 27-year-old was ambushed outside his parents' home on Cornwood Close in Belle Vale at around 11.30am. The gunman was described as wearing an orange high-visibility jacket and riding a pedal bike when he opened fire with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun as Mr Russell stepped out his girlfriend's car.
The gunman remains on the loose and despite three arrests being made by Merseyside Police, no charges have been brought.
(Image: Merseyide Police)
George Bromley
A doorman was gunned down in his friend's home as he read the Daily Post, with Merseyside Police still looking for his killer almost 30 years on. George Bromley was sitting in the kitchen of businessman Charlie Seiga's West Derby home on November 18, 1997, when a gunman made his way into the house and executed the 33-year-old.
The brutal shooting of the dad-of-two on Valescourt Road sparked a manhunt for the person responsible, with reports from the ECHO at the time revealing how the "killings like [Mr Bromley's], and other shocking incidents, have redefined the way our city is policed". Mr Bromley was a prominent door boss in the city at the time of his death and had earned himself the nickname 'The Enforcer' among Liverpool's underworld.
He was shot three times in the head by the masked assassin. However, a month on from the shooting Merseyside Police charged Mr Seiga - the man whose house it was - with Mr Bromley's murder. Two other men were also charged, but the charges were dropped before it went to trial. What proceeded was a high-profile trial where, in October the following year, Mr Seiga was acquitted of murder.
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