Convicted murderer stabbed uncle to death

A man previously convicted of murdering a 23-year-old man in 2011 has been found guilty of stabbing his 64-year-old great uncle to death last year.

Direece Roche, 30, stabbed his great uncle to death, after entering his house through an upstairs window in the early hours of 30 June 2024.

Fintan McDwyer was stabbed 71 times as he lay in bed.

Nicola Carter, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West said: "Direece Roche planned and carried out the brutal murder of his own relative as he lay in bed.

"Roche attempted to conceal his identity by wearing a balaclava as he walked the streets of Manchester before and after murdering his great uncle.

"Roche failed to take full responsibility for his actions, pleading not guilty to murder, claiming self-defence and loss of control.

"The Crown Prosecution Service successfully applied for Roche's previous convictions to be put before the jury to show his prior bad character. Roche stabbed a 23-year-old man to death in 2011, when he was 16 years old.

"Having heard all the evidence, the jury convicted Roche of murder.

"While nothing can bring Mr McDwyer back, I hope his family, and in particular his three sons who have had to sit through this trial, can begin to move forward knowing Roche will face the consequences of his actions."

Facts of the case

Around 8.40 am on 1 July 2023, Mr McDwyer's son returned to the family home in Manchester, where he found his 64-year-old father in a pool of blood and alerted the emergency services.

Paramedics found a large wound on Mr McDwyer's neck, and numerous stab wounds to his head neck and body.

A postmortem later confirmed there were 71 stab wounds in total, which was consistent with a sustained assault. The wound to his neck and blood loss from the number of other wounds were likely to have been the cause of his death.

The police investigation uncovered CCTV showing Roche, wearing a balaclava, walking to Mr McDwyer's house around 3:30am.

Roche then entered the house through an upstairs window and murdered Mr McDwyer, leaving him for dead.

Footage from a camera used to monitor Mr McDwyer's dog in his front room captured audio which led investigators to believe the attack lasted around 90 seconds in total.

Police gathered footage from the area showing Roche jumping over garden fences as he fled the scene.

A torch recovered in a neighbouring garden had Mr Dwyer's blood and traces of Roche's DNA on it, a smear of Mr McDwyer's blood was also found on a concrete post.

The knife used by Roche, his trainers and his balaclava were never recovered.

Following a police investigation, Roche was arrested on 6 July 2024. He made no comment during his police interview and went on to plead not guilty at court.

Over seven months later, having seen the evidence against him, he admitted killing his uncle but claimed he had intended to steal the dog and was acting in self-defence with a loss of control.

He asserted that it was Mr McDwyer who was armed with a knife.

His claims were disproved at trial and Roche was convicted of murder. He will be sentenced at a later date.