Paul Brady case: kidnap and murder guilty verdict

16/03/2011

Paul Devalda was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of the kidnap and murder of Paul Brady, whose body has never been found. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to serve a minimum of 21 years.

Mr Brady had been lured to Weir, near Bacup, by a reported act of vandalism on an empty housing development that he managed. When he arrived, a masked gang of 10 to 15 men armed with metal bars, baseball bats and a shotgun attacked him and bundled him into a van. He was not seen again.

John Dilworth, Head of the CPS Complex Casework Unit in Lancashire and Cumbria said: "Paul Brady was kidnapped in broad daylight and subsequently murdered. Such crimes are rare but when they do occur the public can have confidence that the CPS will work closely with the police to bring offenders to justice.

"The principal defendant in this case, Paul Devalda, has shown himself to be a cunning and manipulative man. However, due to the meticulous investigation by the Lancashire police and tireless attention to detail by the whole of the prosecution team the jury have been able to see through his tissues of lies."

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