Wesley Evans and Michael Ormandy battered a man unconscious in a back street during the early hours
Wesley Evans, of Beatrice Street, aged 42(Image: Merseyside Police)
A dad and a killer-to-be senselessly battered a man unconscious in a back street during a night out. Wesley Evans and Michael Ormandy, who was jailed for life last year after being convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Rebekah Campbell, left their victim with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain as a result of the vicious early hours assault in Liverpool city centre.
The former went on to break into a woman’s flat while she left home for only 10 minutes in order to pop to the shops, then attacked a man who confronted him as he fled the scene. He told his girlfriend “love you babe” as he was locked up today, Tuesday February 17, following his “return to crime”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Jordan Kane had been out drinking with friends in a bar in the city centre before leaving alone shortly after midnight on October 25 2024. He was then walking down Renshaw Street when he saw Ormandy and Evans “messing around with each other”.
But Henry Riding, prosecuting, detailed how Mr Kane then “locked eyes with them” before “turning down a side street to avoid them”. The two defendants were said to have “turned to follow him” down Benson Street, beside Genting Casino, and began walking either side of him.
CCTV footage captured Ormandy, formerly of Linacre Road in Litherland, suddenly turn and punch Mr Kane in the face “with a lot of force” before wrestling him to the ground and walking away. The video then showed Evans, of Beatrice Street in Bootle, kicking the complainant to the body and stamping on his head before following his accomplice as they left the area.
Michael Ormandy was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Rebekah Campbell(Image: Merseyside Police)
Members of the public later found an injured Mr Kane at the scene and called an ambulance. Although he ultimately discharged himself from hospital before receiving treatment, a CT scan undertaken when he returned the following day discovered he had sustained a displaced fracture of the frontal bone and a hematoma.
Then, on March 6 2025, Evans was said to have broken into a flat on Hawthorne Road in Bootle and stole a Prada purse containing a quantity of Romanian currency, as well as a child’s bike and two bottles of perfume, while the occupant “left to go to the shops for a few minutes”, leaving her front door unlocked as she did so. She returned after around 10 minutes to find her front door open.
A man then approached her and told her he had seen Evans leaving the address and chased him before the 42-year-old “stopped and punched him in the face”. This assault did not cause any injuries, although the male’s intervention was said to have led to the burglar dropping several of the stolen items.
Evans was subsequently identified as being the offender after he was caught on CCTV unsuccessfully attempting to purchase items in a shop using a bank card which was taken during the break-in. He has a total of 21 previous convictions for 48 offences between 1998 and 2017, including burglaries, robberies and a two-year sentence for wounding in 2006.
Oliver Saddington, defending, told the court of the first incident: “It is only through very good fortune that the complainant was not more seriously harmed. He is acutely aware of the seriousness.
“He is not someone who has enjoyed a positive life. He had significant experience of the care system as result of his mother’s drug addiction before his grandmother took him in as a teenager. Her bereavement is something that he has struggled to come terms with over a number of years.
“There is room in his life for compassion and care. He has two sons, aged five and six, and, most recently, has a new born son. The first precious months of his son’s life will be missed. That weighs heavily on him. He regrets that more than anything.
“He is somebody who has been tormented by real mental health problems. He tells me that he has taken great strides to address his drug addiction and reduced his intake of cannabis substantially. He intends to take advantage of the help offered to him in prison.”
Evans admitted unlawful wounding, burglary, assault and failing to surrender to bail. Appearing in the dock wearing a blue Montirex tracksuit, he put his head in his hands as he was jailed for 39 months before saying “love you babe” while being led to the cells.
His partner meanwhile replied “see you later”. Evans was also handed a restraining order which will prevent him from contacting Mr Kane for the next five years.
Wesley Evans, of Beatrice Street, aged 42(Image: Merseyside Police)
Sentencing, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said: “In the early hours, you and Mr Ormandy were walking along Benson Street in Liverpoool city centre having been out together, no doubt drinking and, probably, taking drugs. Jordan Kane also had the misfortune to be walking along Benson Street at the same time.
“Whatever was said, nothing justified what then happened. The particular event is caught clearly on CCTV. For no good reason at all, Mr Ormandy punched Mr Kane to the face. Mr Ormandy was a powerfully built man. That punch effectively floored Mr Kane.
“You then kicked him to the body and stamped on his head. Whether it was the initial blow or the stamp to the head matters not, the consequences for Mr Kane were serious indeed. You and Mr Ormandy simply walked away, leaving him there, immobile in the street.
“Your record shows a pattern of violence and acquisitive offending from a young age, though I recognise that there is a significant gap in your offending. That does not outweigh the seriousness of your return to crime.
“I recognise your upbringing in care, your recent family bereavement and other matters affecting your mental health. A third child has recently been born which, though delightful, will add to the pressures on this family. No doubt, these family responsibilities are matters that I must take into consideration. But I am afraid that they do not remove the responsibility of mine to punish you for these offences.”
The ECHO previously reported that Ms Campbell died aged 32 after being knifed 27 times by Ormandy inside her own flat at Knowsley Heights in Huyton in April last year. He claimed to have acted in self-defence during the incident, despite suffering only a single cut to his hand during the altercation, requiring only minor treatment in hospital as a result.
Rebekah was meanwhile left covered in blood as she collapsed outside the block of flats, having suffered 18 stab wounds and been slashed a further nine times with a knife. She was said to have pleaded “get out, go away Mick” as he burst into her home unannounced in a bulletproof vest and brutally attacked her before asking police officers who rushed to the scene “am I gonna die?” as they fought in vain to save her life.
Only three days earlier, “jealous and possessive” Ormandy had left his partner with a black eye after punching her during a night out in the city centre. The self-confessed drug dealer then had sex with another woman at a hotel and told her he was “going to Liverpool to sort something out” a matter of hours before the fatal stabbing.
In the aftermath, Ormandy called the police in the early hours and claimed to have a “suicide vest” while threatening to “blow everyone up”. Following his arrest, he went on to remark his victim “must have stabbed herself”.
Having smiled, clapped and shouted “come on, cloud nine, I know where yous all live you daft c***s” in response to cheers from Rebekah’s family as he was convicted, Ormandy nodded as he was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 24 years behind bars. Some in the public gallery were heard to remark “you little nonce” and “s***house” as he was led down to the cells, at which stage he responded by shouting: “You little tramp. You little rat.”
Ormandy also pleaded guilty to one offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm in relation to the assault on Mr Kane. He was last month handed an additional 18 months behind bars as a result, with Evans having failed to attend court in order to be sentenced on this occasion.
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