Teenager found guilty of murdering young man in Winsford

A teenager who was found guilty of the murder a young man in Winsford has been jailed for a minimum of 19 years.

Noel Reade, 17, who can now be named after reporting restrictions were lifted, was sentenced today (Monday 21 February) to 19 years imprisonment at Chester Crown Court.

Reade was found guilty of the murder of Keagan Crimes on Wednesday 19 January following a four-week trial at Chester Crown Court.

 He pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon earlier on during the trial.

During the trial, the court heard how Reade, who was aged 16 at the time, was in Cheviot Square on the evening of Sunday 11 October 2020. He was armed with a weapon, believed to be a Rambo III knife, and was with a group of four other teens.

The group had come to Cheviot Square to seek out two men, who were inside the Premier Store, that the teen believed were part of another group of men that they were feuding with.

CCTV shown in the court saw that as the men attempted to leave the shop, the teenager and his group ran towards the premises to gain entry. 

Reade was seen armed with the Rambo knife, kicking, banging and pushing at the door while one of this gang was armed with a hammer smashing the glass door of the shop while the men attempted to hold it shut.

Eventually the group gained access to the shop causing the two men further inside the shop before escaping via the stock room door.

The 17-year-old and his associates re-grouped outside the shop and at this point, another group approached the teenager from the rear of the shop. 

In the group was one of the men that had been chased through the shop by Reade, 27-year-old Keagan Crimes and Jason McQuoid.

As the two groups met, the four associates of Reade ran away but he remained, brandishing the knife towards the group that Keagan was part of.

At this point a fight broke out - it was early on in this fight when Keagan sustained a deep stab wound to the upper chest area.

Jason attempted to use a tree branch to swipe out at the teen but fell to the floor before he was stabbed in the left shoulder and chest area.

CCTV showed the defendant run into a nearby kebab shop where he remained inside for several minutes with the group gathered outside before he ran from the scene towards Bowland Rise with the weapon.

The knife was never seen again but the court heard from the 17-year-old that he’d hidden it along with his clothing and then returned to Winsford the following day to retrieve and bury it, also stating that he burnt his clothing.

A senior paramedic was first to arrive on the scene and found Keagan lying still and unresponsive on the ground with members of the public putting pressure on the wound.

The paramedic also became aware of Jason who was in a distressed state with slash wounds to his chest.

They were both taken to hospital but sadly, despite the best efforts of all involved, Keagan was pronounced dead at 1.25am on 12 October 2020.

A medical examination found that Keagan had lost an estimated 33 pints of blood from a single stab wound, which entered his heart near his left shoulder. Experts stated this would have required ‘severe force’ to inflict.

Jason was treated for his injuries and later discharged.

Following Keagan’s death an investigation was launched by the force’s Major Investigation Team.

As part of their ongoing enquiries detectives were able to piece together mobile phone data and CCTV images from the incident and following the attack.

These revealed that Reade was at the scene and then after contacting his mother, she arranged for a taxi to collect him from the Cow Lane area of Winsford.  His sister travelled from Crewe in the taxi and accompanied him home. Forensic examination of the scene identified DNA, which was later attributed to the teenager.

After looking through Reade’s phone, it was found that call logs from 11 October 2020 had been removed and that he had searched phrases such as ‘does blood wash off shoes’, Rambo III knives and guns.

Reade was arrested on 14 October 2020 and later released on bail while enquiries progressed. In April 2021, he was re-arrested and, during interview, indicated that he had attended the scene with a knife with the intention of scaring off the group of boys and had acted in self-defence.

He was bailed for a second time and, on 21 June 2021, was subsequently charged with Keagan’s murder, section 18 wounding with intent in relation to Jason. He was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Two other boys (then aged 15 and 16) were also charged with affray in relation to the incident. They were dealt with at an earlier hearing on 21 July 2021. Both were sentenced to 12 month intensive Youth Referral Order.

Detective Inspector Adam Waller, who led the investigation, said: “The sentence handed down by the courts today reflects the nature of the attack that led to Keagan losing his life.

“Throughout the investigation and trial, Reade has shown no remorse for his actions and I know that the courts will have taken this into account when sentencing him today.

“My thoughts, and that of our team, are with Keagan’s family who have had to sit through and listen to distressing evidence, reliving his last hours that no-one should ever have to listen to. I hope in some way, knowing that Reade will be behind bars for a significant time, will bring some comfort to know that we have secured justice for Keagan.”

Pictured - Noel Reade