A BICYCLE allegedly used by the killer of the schoolboy Rhys Jones and found hidden on waste ground had the DNA of a teenager accused of his murder on it, a court heard yesterday.
The frame of the mountain bike, which had been dumped and was handed to police six months after the killing following an appeal, was linked directly to Sean Mercer, 18, Neil Flewitt, QC, prosecuting, said.
Rhys, 11, was gunned down in the car par
k of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park, Liverpool, on 22 August last year.
He was hit by one of three bullets fired at members of a north Liverpool gang, the Nogga Dogz, by opposing Crocky Crew gang member Mercer, of Croxteth, Liverpool Crown Court has heard.
The jury heard that a local man, Leslie Shimmin, who had found the bike's frame the day after Rhys's murder while cycling with his sons near an industrial unit in Kirkby, north Liverpool, later recognised it from media reports.
The bicycle had been hidden less than 250 metres from the unit Mercer and several of his co-accused allegedly visited hours after Rhys's murder.
Mr Flewitt said DNA swabs taken from the alleged murderer matched DNA on the discovered bicycle.
The court also heard that Mercer was helped by other Crocky Crew gang members who hid the gun used in the shooting, disposed of clothing worn on the day and used petrol to remove gunshot residue from Mercer's body.
Mercer was arrested on 25 August and said he was with a friend – Boy K – at the time of the murder. Boy K, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies assisting an offender and possessing a gun and ammunition.
The trial continues.
The full article contains 295 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
