Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment following the robbery and murder of a man in Rusholme

Two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment following the robbery and murder of a man in Rusholme.

Connor OCasey (12/08/1997) of Charles Street, Manchester and Jack Brown (12/06/1994) of no fixed abode have today (Wednesday 10 February 2021) both been sentenced at Manchester Crown Square Court to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 27 years, after being found guilty of the murder of Leroy Hanley. Both men were also sentenced to 13 years imprisonment – set to run concurrently - after being found guilty of robbery.

At around 12.20am on Tuesday 14 July 2020 a neighbour of Leroy Hanley tried to call him after hearing banging from his house on Carnforth Street, Rusholme, and what she believed was someone going up his stairs.

Unable to reach him, she and a group of friends were able to gain access to Hanley's house where they found him unresponsive in the lounge.

Emergency services were called and Leroy was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation was launched and enquiries established both Connor OCasey and Jack Brown had visited a property in Manchester on Tuesday 14 July 2020, where OCasey had discussed that earlier in the day he and Brown had visited Leroy's house and assaulted him with a small hammer whilst OCasey held him in a headlock. Both men also stole cannabis from Hanley.

Following a police search of the property, OCasey's passport was recovered and a birth certificate in the name of Jack Brown was also seized. A CCTV trawl of the area identified Brown and OCasey cycling to Leroy's home. The two men were subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder.

Forensic examination of Hanley's property later recovered finger prints on an internal door frame and these were identified to be OCasey.

Senior Investigating Officer Duncan Thorpe of GMP's Serious Crime Division said: "A man lost his life through the unprovoked, violent and callous actions of both OCasey and Brown. I hope today's sentence provides his family with a sense of justice.

"I am glad we have been able to remove these dangerous individuals from the streets of Greater Manchester. Sadly, no sentence will bring back Leroy and our thoughts are firmly with his family who continue to grieve the loss of a loved one ".