{"id":15850,"date":"2019-10-23T12:15:26","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T16:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=15850"},"modified":"2019-10-23T12:15:26","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T16:15:26","slug":"josh-hanson-murder-britains-most-wanted-man-jailed-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2019\/10\/23\/josh-hanson-murder-britains-most-wanted-man-jailed-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Josh Hanson murder: Britain’s ‘most wanted’ man jailed for life"},"content":{"rendered":"

A killer once dubbed one of Britain’s most wanted fugitives has been jailed for at least 26 years.<\/p>\n

Shane O’Brien, 31, evaded police for three-and-a-half years after he slashed Josh Hanson’s neck in Hillingdon, west London, on 11 October 2015.<\/p>\n

He fled the UK, changed his appearance and moved around Europe before his extradition from Romania in April.<\/p>\n

O’Brien,\u00a0who jurors found guilty of murder last month<\/a>, was given a life sentence at the Old Bailey.<\/p>\n

CCTV released during the trial showed 21-year-old Mr Hanson clutching his neck and stumbling as blood poured out of a 37cm (14.5in) wound.<\/p>\n

‘Abrupt, vicious, violent’<\/h2>\n

After the killing, jurors heard, O’Brien was seen “calmly” walking out of the bar.<\/p>\n

He made his way to Ashford, Kent, where a contact had chartered a private four-seater plane to take him to the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

The killer grew a beard and long hair and changed his tattoos as he travelled through countries including Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic, the court was told.<\/p>\n

In 2017, the father-of-two was arrested over a dispute in a Prague nightclub but gave police a false name and fled while on bail.<\/p>\n

The trial heard the 31-year-old was added to Europol and Interpol’s most wanted lists but still managed to lie low.<\/p>\n

However, he was eventually caught by Romanian authorities after he contacted Scotland Yard to arrange a possible meeting, the jury heard.<\/p>\n

Sentencing the father-of-two, Judge Nigel Lickley QC called it “a grotesque, violent and totally unnecessary attack on an innocent man”.<\/p>\n

“The reason why you behaved in such a way may never be fully explained. You, however, know the reason,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Josh<\/span>
Josh Hanson was pronounced dead at the RE bar in Hillingdon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a victim impact statement, Mr Hanson’s mother Tracey described her son as being “considerate, kind and generous”.<\/p>\n

“He was taken from us in the most horrific way possible – suddenly, abruptly, viciously and violently,” she said.<\/p>\n

The victim’s sister, Brooke, said the 21-year-old “was not just my brother, he was my best friend”, and described his “infectious smile” and “magical presence”.<\/p>\n

She told the court she had suffered from anxiety and post-traumatic stress since the killing and found herself always wondering if she could have protected him from the “evil” that took him away.<\/p>\n

During the trial, O’Brien had claimed he felt threatened by Mr Hanson’s “very aggressive body language” and had only meant to scare his victim.<\/p>\n

There were angry shouts of “coward” from the public gallery as he was led away from the dock.<\/p>\n

Det Ch Insp Noel McHugh said O’Brien “thought he could evade justice with the help of his ‘associates’ but he was wrong”.<\/p>\n

“It is only now, upon sentence, that it’s sinking in… that O’Brien has finally been caught and convicted and will be off the streets, away from society, for a very long time”, he said.<\/p>\n

How a killer was caught<\/h2>\n