Paul Marsh was stabbed in the shoulder and bled to death when his carotid artery was severed
A teenager tried to help his friend get away with murder by lying to the police. The 17-year-old, who can’t be named for legal reasons, went along with a false account that his friend, Jordan Rance, gave to the police after he stabbed Paul Marsh to death.
Rance, who was 16 at te time, stabbed Mr Marsh, 49, in the shoulder, severing his carotid artery following a minor disagreement at a social gathering at a flat in Atherton, Wigan, on November 17 last year. The incident occurred when tensions escalated between the pair.
Following a trial in March, Rance was found guilty of murder and was detained for life to serve a minimum term of 21 years in custody, reports M.E..N. Prosecutor Joseph Hart told the court that on November 17 last year, Rance and his friend were at a flat in Wigan, when Rance got into an altercation with Mr Marsh.
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Mr Hart said: “Jordan Rance stabbed Mr Marsh to the shoulder and he died as a result of that injury. Witnesses reported that Mr Marsh fell back onto the sofa, and that Jordan Rance was in the company of this defendant.
“After the incident, Jordan Rance was interviewed by the police, he said the stabbing was an accident, that Mr Marsh had pulled out a ‘shiny thing’ and was asking for his phone.
“There was a struggle and Jordan Rance had pushed Mr Marsh and both fell with Mr Marsh on top of him. He claimed he left the flat not knowing he was hurt.”
Days later, his friend, the 17-year-old, was spoken to by the police, and confirmed he was present at the flat when the incident took place. He claimed that Mr Marsh pulled a knife from his waistband during a scuffle in which they ended up on the floor.
He then said that he ‘didn’t think anything serious’ happened and claimed he had never seen Mr Marsh before. Mr Hart said: “This was an untrue account and an attempt to pervert the course of justice.
Rance later provided two defence case statements, one of which lined up with what he had previously told the police, and another which claimed that there had been an exchange of blows between himself and Mr Marsh. He then said that he picked up a knife from a table nearby.
It was later confirmed that Rance, and his friend, had met Mr Marsh weeks before where there had been another altercation. The prosecutor said: “It is the prosecution’s case that Jordan Rance’s first account, later accepted as untrue, was used in consequence of collusion. This was a deliberate attempt to collude with Jordan Rance.
“There was significant communication between the defendant and Jordan Rance in which they discussed altering some evidence including resetting his phone and swapping SIM cards.” He said: “Me and Jordan had our story ready if we do get nicked. Jordan told the police his side of the story, he said my name, they come to me I tell them the same story and that’ll make us both look good. I’m Jordan’s alibi, like to get Jordan out of it.”
He was interviewed again by the police, telling them he believed Rance acted in self defence. He later pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice. The teen was said to have six previous convictions for 18 offences, mostly driving offences and one of wounding with intent.
David Bruce, mitigating, said: “The most important thing is there is clear remorse. This young man has had very significant difficulties in his life” He said the teen was ‘open to being exploited’ by those older than him.
Judge Tina Landale, sentencing, said: “It was obvious you and Jordan had put your heads together to give this false story in the hope of getting Jordan off with a murder charge. In reality, the story you came up with was a load of nonsense. It was unsophisticated but it was planned.
“It seems you do regret what happened and you are sorry. You had a difficult background and were exploited by those older than you, but you weren’t exploited here, you did it out of loyalty for a friend.”
The teen was handed a 12 month detention and training order, of which he will serve half in a Young Offenders Institution before being released on licence.
