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A man has been found guilty of murdering Tyson Fury’s cousin by stabbing him to the neck. The incident occurred during a mass brawl outside a bar.
Liam O’Pray stabbed 31-year-old Rico Burton in Altrincham town centre on August 21. The 22-year-old was also found guilty of wounding with intent against another man, Harvey Reilly – who was also seriously injured in the incident.
A jury previously heard that O’Pray had armed himself with a lock knife before he stabbed Mr Burton’s neck during a fight at 3am outside King Pong bar. The Manchester Evening News reports that the wound “almost completely divided” a major artery in Mr Burton’s neck, causing “a massive, fatal haemorrhage.”
Prosecuting, Michael Brady KC said all three men had spent the previous few hours in bars around the Goose Green area of Altrincham. After leaving one bar earlier on in the evening, jurors heard that O’Pray tried to regain entry between 9pm and 10pm but was denied.
Upon being turned away, he threatened that he would return and ‘cause an issue’. O’Pray – from Swinton, Salford – returned to the Goose Green area shortly before 3am and attempted to enter the King Pong bar on his own.
Mr Burton and his family friends were in the vicinity at the time. No one was being allowed entry to the bar due to a “previous unrelated incident”. After being turned away by the bar’s managers, O’Pray became aggressive and said he would “blow the place up.”
He attempted to force his way into the bar several times claiming that he had lost his phone, but was repeatedly ejected by bouncers. One witness said O’Pray was a “loose cannon” and said she saw him “pushing girls about in his efforts to find his phone.”
In an attempt to calm them, a bouncer promised to look for it but when they tried to follow her into the bar, she told them they would have to come back the next day. O’Pray was unsatisfied and attempted to enter the bar again before he was restrained.
