A mother and her two adult children have been jailed for life after fatally stabbing a distant relative.

Joanne Maxwell, 44, enlisted Liam Donlin, 25, and Amie Clegg, 22, in her plot to get revenge on two men, including 37-year-old Paul Scott, who was a relative of Donlin.

All three were jailed for life at Preston Crown Court today. Maxwell with a 23-year minimum term, Donlin was given a 26-year minimum term, and Clegg was given a 20-year minimum term.

In the early hours of 22 June 2025, the trio armed themselves with knives and went to Mr Scott’s home. Clegg lured him to the door and filmed the stabbing, which was carried out by Donlin.

Joanna White for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Encouraged by his mother, Liam Donlin stabbed Paul Scott in the chest with severe force, while his sister, Amie Clegg filmed it.

“Joanne Maxwell wanted revenge and enlisted the help of her adult children. The three acted together, taking different roles, but all with the shared intention to deliberately inflict serious harm on Paul Scott.

“It is deeply concerning to see a mother, encouraging her own children to carry and use weapons. The Crown Prosecution Service will continue to work with our partners to tackle the devastating impact of knife crime.

“I hope as Maxwell and her children face the full consequences of their actions; Mr Scott’s loved ones can feel some sense of justice.”

Around 3.30am on 22 June 2025, Joanne Maxwell, Liam Donlin and Amie Clegg, armed themselves with knives and Maxwell drove them to Paul Scott’s home.

On the way, Donlin was sending audio messages in the presence of Maxwell and Clegg, bragging to others how he was going to attack, kill and chop up those responsible for assaulting his mother. He also said he was going to film it and put it on social media.

Clegg, knowing Mr Scott was scared of reprisals from Maxwell and Donlin, lured Mr Scott to the door, where Donlin stabbed him through the heart causing his death.

Donlin and Maxwell stayed by the door following the attack, Clegg went back to the car and called the police, she gave a false name and claimed she didn’t know what had happened to Mr Scott.

When the police arrived, all three claimed they had found Mr Scott like that and didn’t know what had happened.

Two knives were recovered from Mr Scott’s sink, and a third knife was recovered from the car they all travelled in. Mr Scott’s blood was later found on one of the knives from the sink.

All three were arrested and made no comment in their police interviews. Maxwell and Clegg did give brief prepared statements denying any involvement or knowledge.

Once before the court, due to the wealth of evidence, Donlin had no option but to accept he had killed Mr Scott and had possession of a knife, but he claimed he had no intention to seriously harm him.

Following a trial at Preston Crown Court, on 20 March 2026, Donlin, Maxwell and Clegg were found guilty of murder and possession of a bladed articles.

Building the joint enterprise case

If a person assists or encourages another to commit a murder, with intent to kill or cause serious harm, they can face prosecution for their involvement.

Prosecutors must prove to a jury beyond reasonable doubt that each defendant played a part and is therefore guilty of a crime.

They do this by using all available evidence to piece together each defendant’s active role in a crime.

In this case, the principal offender, Donlin, delivered the fatal blow, but it was Maxwell who was intent on revenge for those who she believed to have wronged her, and had enlisted the help of her son, Donlin, and her daughter, Clegg.

It was clear from the audio message Donlin recorded during the car journey with his mother and sister that the intention was to “kill and chop up those responsible for assaulting his mother.”

Donlin, was riled up and encouraged by his mother and sister. They met and travelled home in a taxi together while Donlin, tried to source a ‘ting’, believed to be a firearm. Maxwell was overheard insisting they needed to sort something out tonight and Clegg was agreeing, confirming Mr Scott would be at the address.

The three armed themselves with knives before travelling to Mr Scott’s house in Maxwell’s car, where Clegg lured Mr Scott to the door and Donlin carried out the fatal stabbing.

By demonstrating the actions of the three family members, the prosecution was able to convince the jury that they were all jointly responsible for murder.