A gang member who played a role in concealing the murder of Rhys Jones in Liverpool has been discovered dead at a residence.
Former member of the Croxteth Crew, Dean Stephen Kelly, who was previously incarcerated in connection with the shocking murder of the schoolboy, has passed away at the age of 31, as reported by the Liverpool Echo today. Kelly, residing in Majestic Close, Croxteth, aided Sean Mercer both before and after he committed the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones while crossing a pub car park on his way home from football training in August 2007.
The 31-year-old provided Mercer with an alibi, informing the police that they were watching a DVD together at the time of the murder. Kelly was one of eleven individuals, including Mercer’s mother Janette Mercer, who received sentences for Rhys’ murder and the subsequent cover-up.
In 2009, he was sentenced to four years in prison for assisting an offender and hiding the gun in his loft after the shooting. However, he returned to custody in less than a year for violating the terms of his parole.
Kelly was found dead at Station Road, Springside, Irvine, Scotland, on April 6 this year. An inquest into his death took place at Gerard Majella Courthouse on Friday, November 10, before the senior coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, Andre Rebello.