Three jailed for justice plot after St Helens stabbing cover-up
Three people have been sentenced for conspiring to pervert the course of justice after a 2021 stabbing in St Helens. Digital evidence exposed a coordinated effort to mislead police.
Conspiracy to mislead police unravelled by phone forensics after Parr stabbing
Three people have been sentenced for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice following a stabbing in St Helens almost five years ago, hellorayo.co.uk reports.
Merseyside Police received reports on 23 November 2021 that a man in his 30s had been attacked by four men at a property on Sunners Green Close in Parr. As the investigation progressed, officers received multiple reports of witness intimidation and threatening phone calls made to the victim, Walid Gbeira, and people connected to him.
A man was charged with witness intimidation on the basis of those reports and remanded in custody for 63 days. The proceedings were later discontinued after telecommunications analysis revealed significant inconsistencies in the allegations, indicating the reports were false.
Those findings prompted a separate inquiry into whether false reports had been submitted to influence the direction of the investigation. In August 2022, search warrants were executed at the addresses of Gbeira and Nicole McMenamy — whose home the original stabbing was reported to have occurred in. Forensic examination of mobile phones uncovered extensive digital evidence, including call records, messages, videos and covert recordings.
Investigators identified a coordinated effort to mislead police, fabricate allegations, falsely implicate individuals in criminal offences and interfere with the course of justice. Gbeira, McMenamy and McMenamy's friend Caitlyn Waring were subsequently charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Gbeira, 39, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty on the first day of trial in June 2026 and was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday 23 October to three years in prison. McMenamy, 27, of Baltimore Drive in St Helens, pleaded guilty before trial and was sentenced to two years and five months in prison. Waring, 26, of Linear View in Newton-le-Willows, also pleaded guilty before trial and received a 15-month sentence, suspended for two years.
Police confirmed that no further action was taken in relation to the original stabbing after prosecutors determined there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction, citing significant concerns over the reliability and credibility of key witnesses Gbeira and McMenamy.
Detective Chief Inspector Lisa McNaughton said: "Clearly Gbeira and McMenamy thought they would be able to spin a web of lies in an attempt to pervert the course of the investigation and implicate who they wanted. It is only thanks to the hard work and determination of the investigation team that we were able to unpick their lies and successfully convict them and put them behind bars."
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)