Killer involved in plot to shoot nan is convicted paedophile | UK | News
Simon Allen found guilty of murdering Jackie Rutter (Image: Merseyside police)
It turned out that the killer who planned to shoot and kill the grandmother was a pedophile. Liverpool Echo reports Simon Allen was one of three men found guilty of murdering Jackie Rutter, who was shot at the front door of her home in Wirral in October 2022.
James Byrne, Barrie Glynn and David Harrison have also been on trial at Liverpool Crown Court for the past three months, accused of murdering Nan at her home in Meadowbrook Road, Moreton.
The court heard the attack was in retaliation for an apparent “robbery” or “taxation” in which Ms Rutter’s sons Peter and Steven stole a mobile phone that Byrne and another man, Preston Connolly, used to run their drug dealing business as part of the “JJ Line”.
The two men allegedly carried out the attack the next day, along with getaway driver Glynn. Meanwhile, Allen set fire to the stolen car driven by the killers, who appeared to have carried out reconnaissance missions at key locations earlier that evening.
It is alleged that Harrison’s home was used as a base on the night of the murder. A fifth defendant, Anna McGinn, was also charged with assisting an offender in connection with the shooting as she later gave Byrne and her boyfriend Connolly a ride home.
The latter was not present at the Liverpool pier as he had previously fled the country to Türkiye. The fate of the criminals was determined on Wednesday, January 28, after the jury deliberated for 15 hours and 15 minutes.
Byrne, Allen and Harrison were unanimously found guilty of Jackie’s murder, while Glynn was found guilty of manslaughter by a majority of two to 10. All four were unanimously found guilty of possessing a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life and arson.
According to the ECHO, Harrison shook his head when he was convicted, while Glynn raised his eyebrows when he was found guilty of manslaughter. Byrne initially did not react to the verdict, but later threw an apparently full bottle of Buxton water at Allen as he was being taken to the cells.
In response, Allen shouted “fucking f***ing head” and appeared to attack his fellow defendant, with guards having to restrain him. However, at this stage he continued to fight, saying “Let me go.”
McGinn was cleared of assisting an offender and was discharged from the dock in tears. The men will be sentenced by Mr Justice Goose on Thursday morning.
When the trial began in October, Nigel Power KC told jurors: “About three years ago, on 30 October 2022, a lady named Jacqueline Rutter opened the front door of her home address. She was shot in the chest with a weapon that resembled or resembled a Grand Power self-loading pistol and died at the scene.”
“Jackie Rutter, as she was always known, was a 53-year-old grandmother. But this was not a case of mistaken identity. This was a targeted revenge attack in the heat of a drug dispute.
“You will see CCTV during the trial. Three men arrived at her address in a black Vauxhall Insignia car. It was a stolen car. There were two passengers in the back. They got out of the back of the car. They went to Ms Rutter’s front door.
“When he answered he was shot twice. One shot missed, one passed through his right hand and entered his chest. The two men went to his front door and returned to the Vauxhall Insignia.
53-year-old Jackie Rutter was shot and killed outside her home (Image: ECHO)
“They went to a nearby street where they met a fourth man. The man was waiting for them with two other vehicles, a silver Ford C-Max and a Yamaha motorcycle. Moments after the collision, the Vauxhall Insignia caught fire.
“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 named Preston Connolly. They were involved in the drug business together and they were taking revenge because the phone they were using to run the drug business had been taken away from them the day before by Jackie Rutter’s sons, Steven Rutter and Peter Rutter.”
“Preston Connolly fled the country. He left Manchester for Istanbul on December 30, 2023. He will have to stand trial at a later date, but he is an important name in the case and you will hear a lot about him.
“The driver of the Insignia was Barrie Glynn. He was also a drug user. He bought drugs from Preston Connolly and James Byrne and also helped with the work. Simon Allen and David Harrison gave valuable assistance to the hitmen.
“They were also employees of the JJ Line drug business, as they were known. You will see that they played a major role in what happened. It was Mr. Allen who set fire to the Insignia car.
“The fifth defendant, Anna McGinn, was Preston Connolly’s girlfriend. After the murder, she gave James Byrne and Preston Connolly a ride to help them drive away from the scene of the murder and help them get arrested.
During the hearing the court was told Byrne and his twin brother Curtis had previously been convicted of attempted murder. These related to a shooting on May 11, 2022, in which “a rival drug dealer was shot with a self-loading pistol in retaliation for other acts of violence.”
James Byrne found guilty of murder and named ‘responsible’ by defendants (Image: Merseyside police)
Allen also had previous offenses related to firearm possession on his record, dating back to 2003 and 2020. Allen told the court he “found it extremely pleasant to look at the guns”.
Allen was jailed in November 2023 for offenses relating to indecent images of children. The ECHO reported that the then 53-year-old was “attracted to younger men” and shared such lewd material with other perverts online.
Allen was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after downloading and sending 250 indecent photos and videos to four other people. Extreme pornography images featuring horses and dogs were also found on Allen’s devices.
Allen was forced to sign the sex offenders register in 2015 after being jailed for similar crimes. However, he breached these conditions by traveling to the Netherlands with Byrne and Connolly without notifying the police in advance.
It was also said that he had a previous criminal record in the Netherlands for extreme pornographic images and drug crimes. John Weate, defending, told the court his client spent his early years in the country because his father ran a business there, and he was also described as a heavy user of illegal Class A substances.
Allen, followed by Glynn and Harrison, said from the witness stand that Byrne, 23, of no fixed address, was responsible for the shooting. He told the court his co-defendant told him minutes after he was shot: “I put two on his chest.”
Allen, 55, of no fixed address, said he was kidnapped by Byrne’s mother after the incident and “hidden” by men armed with machetes and axes who demanded payment. Under cross-examination, Allen told the co-defendant’s lawyer Adrian Langdale KC: “I don’t care what you think” and swore at him in Dutch.
