Three men jailed for grandmother's shooting murder

Three men have been jailed for murdering a Wirral grandmother who was shot in her home.

Jaqueline Rutter, 53, was shot dead after she opened the door on Meadowbrook Road in Morton, Wirral, in October 2022.

The man who fired the fatal shots, James Byrne, 24, has been given a life sentence and told he must serve a minimum of of 40 years behind bars.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Jacqueline, who was described as an innocent victim of a revenge attack, had been targeted after two of her sons had stolen a phone used to sell drugs by Byrne.

The court heard how at 01:00 GMT three men arrived at Jacqueline's home in a black Vauxhall Insignia car.

Two passengers got out of the back of the car, one of which was Byrne, and went to the front door.

She was shot twice after she answered her door, police said.

The two men then got back into the car, which was later set alight.

Byrne, 24, of no fixed address, Simon Allen, 55, of no fixed address, David Harrison, 59, of Pensby, Wirral, were found guilty of Jacqueline's murder on Wednesday.

Allen, who set the car on fire, was also given a life sentence with a minimum term of 28 years and Harrison, who helped before and after the shooting, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years.

A fourth man, Barrie Glynn, 47, of Heswall, Wirral, who drove the killers to and from the scene, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

He was given a 30-year sentence.

The judge, Mr Justice Goose said Byrne played a leading role in Jacqueline's death and its planning, along with another man, who was outside the jurisdiction of the court and wanted by police.

The judge said he was satisfied Allen, Harrison and Glynn became involved in the killing because of their drug addictions, but not because they were exploited by Byrne.

All will serve concurrent sentences for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and arson for burning the getaway car.

The court was told Jacqueline, a mother-of-six and grandmother-of-five, was a life-long drug addict.

Byrne, who is already serving a jail sentence for attempted murder was described by Jaqueline's daughter-in-law Jemma Rixon as a "pathetic coward".

She said: "You picked on Jackie as an easy target. A grandmother, isolated, late at night.

"What a big man."

She told him: "I hope you rot in hell."

Speaking outside court, Det Ch Insp Steve McGrath said the "callous actions" of the men, firing on the victim at close range as she opened the front door, showed how "violent and calculated" the murder was.

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