Trio jailed for boy's cannabis debt stab murder

Three men who murdered a boy over a £180 drug debt while armed with a knife and a baseball bat have been jailed for life.

Callum Riley, 17, and his friend were stabbed at a house in Heywood, Rochdale, in September 2022.

Tony Adams, 35, Dale Heywood, 26, and Niall Conaghan, 18, were found guilty of his murder after a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Adams, of Crewe, and Heywood, of Middleton, were given 24-year minimum sentences, while Conaghan must serve at least eight years.

The trial heard Callum and his friend had gone to Adams' house armed with glass bottles, to exact revenge following threats and damage to his own house over a cannabis drug debt.

The trio were "lying in wait" for the pair when they arrived, police said, before attacking them with a knife and baseball bat.

Callum and his friend had run off but he was found collapsed on Atholl Drive and died a short time later.

A "blood trail" led officers to Adams' house, Greater Manchester Police said.

Adams claimed he had acted in self-defence, telling police on his arrest that he was "really, really sorry, I didn’t mean for it to happen".

But Det Insp Louise Edwards said Adams had deliberately "set in motion a chain of violent events" ahead of the attack.

The men had armed themselves "in the expectation of violence", she added.

"The family and friends of Callum have had to face the loss of a loved one in such terrible circumstances."

In a tribute after his death, Callum's mother said he had a "good heart" and was "loved so deeply".