Gucci bag murder: 'Why are shops selling 15-inch machetes?'

As Ryan O'Connor walked home with his new Gucci bag he had no idea he had minutes to live.

He was walking across the Aberthaw Road roundabout in Alway, Newport, when two men brandishing hunting knives stabbed him through the heart and lungs.

The 26-year-old fractured his hand during the attack, in which witnesses saw his assailants kicking him before they fled back to their car.

He did not know his killers but was a random victim of a savage attack involving a group of men, all known to police.

Now there have been calls for those responsible for illegal knife sales to be held accountable.

Nick Corrigan, director of Media Academy Cymru which runs weapons prevention programme Braver Choices, said: "Children are not allowed by law to buy knives but it is clear that enterprising young people are using other people's identification documents to get knives.

"What we need to be asking retailers is, 'why are they selling 15-inch machetes?'.

"What is that going to do for anyone whether that is legal or not legal?"

Just 1% of children carry knives in the mistaken belief it makes them safer, he said, but those who did were 63% more likely to be stabbed.

"What we need to do as a legislation, as a country, in Wales particularly, is look at those establishments selling those knives and who they are selling them to and make sure they are accountable for sales," Mr Corrigan said.

"Just showing some ID that might not be theirs is not good enough."

Two men were found guilty of murdering Mr O'Connor after a trial at Newport Crown Court.

Known to many as Apple, he was stabbed five times and bled to death on the pavement in June last year.

Joseph Jeremy, 18, of no fixed address, and Lewis Aquilina, 20, of Riverside, Cardiff, were found guilty of the murder and robbery of Mr O'Connor.

In April, Jeremy was jailed for life for murder, to serve a minimum term of 24 years. He will also serve 12 years for robbery concurrently.

Aquilina was also sentenced to life for murder, with a minimum term of 22 years. He will also serve 12 years for robbery concurrently.

Kyle Raisis, 18, of Canton, Cardiff, was convicted of manslaughter and robbery. He was jailed for 12 years for manslaughter and eight years for robbery which he will serve concurrently.

In May, the last of the gang was sentenced: Ethan Strickland, 19, of Caerau, Cardiff, was jailed for eight years after he was found guilty of robbery. He will serve two-thirds of the eight-year term before he will be released on licence.

Elliot Fiteni, 20, of no fixed address, was cleared of murder, manslaughter and robbery.

At the time of the attack Jeremy was on the run from secure accommodation where he was being held after stabbing a 17-year-old.

He had continued to buy knives in that accommodation using his father's driving licence.

Ethan Strickland's relative Lee was one of three convicted for the homophobic murder of Cardiff doctor Gary Jenkins in the city's Bute Park.

The much-loved and respected psychiatrist was kicked repeatedly and suffered catastrophic brain injuries.

The knives used in the assault came from a Cornwall shop for so-called "preppers". These are survivalists readying themselves for the end of civilisation.

The shop said it no longer sells knives of the type used in Mr O'Connor's killing.

The BBC interviewed owner Lincoln Miles in 2015, asking him whether he was concerned knives on sale could be used for crime.

"I would have thought if someone was [going to do that] they are going to buy a £2.99 kitchen knife or grab something from their kitchen," he said.

Newport Crown Court was told Mr O'Connor's killers travelled from Cardiff to Newport in a stolen Ford Fiesta ST on the evening of 10 June last year with hunting knives, gloves and balaclavas, looking for someone to rob.

Although witnesses saw only two men attack Mr O'Connor, the prosecution said all five were equally responsible because they knew the intention of the trip was to rob someone and cause serious harm.

Mr O'Connor was walking home after visiting his brother Daniel and his girlfriend when he was killed.

Daniel said his brother wanted to show them the Gucci bag he had bought that day.

As he crossed the roundabout witnesses saw two men get out of their car.

The court heard one shouted at him to "come here".

Clad in dark clothing and gloves they ran toward Mr O'Connor with their knives, and their victim stumbled and fell as he tried to get away.

He was stabbed through the heart and lungs and fractured his hand as he tried to fend off his attackers.

Witnesses said he was kicked before the men ran back to the car, taking the bag with them. The attack lasted 30 seconds.

Joanna Verallo, whose home overlooks the roundabout, told police the five drove slowly past Mr O'Connor, laughing as he lay dying, and she shouted at them and called them "disgusting".

Joseph Jeremy, 17 at the time, was the youngest of the group and his fellow defendants said he was "bubbling with excitement" after the stabbing, saying: "I yinged him."

He already had convictions for serious violence before Ryan O'Connor was killed and had admitted firing a replica gun in a racially aggravated assault in Penarth in August 2020, when he was given a supervision order.

In November the same year he stabbed a 17-year-old Cardiff boy in the shoulder and stomach with what was described as a "ferocious looking knife."

He later posed with the blade on Snapchat.

The court heard Jeremy bought knives using his father's driving licence as ID - he was too young to buy them himself.

He was staying at the home of fellow defendant and car thief Strickland.

The pair spent hours making videos with their knives, even showing off a 15in (38cm) hunting knife in a Cardiff park.

On making their getaway after the attack on Mr O'Connor, the group returned to Cardiff and a fuel station CCTV camera captured Jeremy putting £10 of petrol into the car.

Witnesses gave police a description of the car and officers spotted it driving at speed on the city's Western Avenue.

There was then a high-speed chase on a busy A48 and through the streets of Pentwyn before police burst the tyres with a stinger.

The car then careered into a barrier, boxed in by two police vehicles and the five ran from the car, leaving the knives behind.

Jeremy live streamed his arrest on social media.

During a recorded prison phone call while Jeremy was on remand, his father asked him to think about what Mr O'Connor's family were feeling.

He replied: "I don't give a toss. This is why I need my head checked ASAP."

Traces of Mr O'Connor's blood was found on Aquilina's trainer and trousers.

He claimed he was trying to kick the blade out of Jeremy's hand, describing Mr O'Connor in court as "that poor boy".

He drove the car to Newport after stealing it from a house in Usk in the early hours of the morning with fellow defendant Elliot Fiteni, who was cleared of murder, manslaughter and robbery.

Aquilina told the court he was "a car thief but not a murderer".

The 20 year old tried to strangle the police officer who arrested him.

In a statement, PC Ben Thomas said Aquilina had his neck in a "vice like grip" leaving him struggling to breathe.

Finally restrained and arrested on suspicion of murder he sobbed, telling police: "It wasn't me," but a witness said they saw Mr O'Connor being kicked as he fought for his life.

With his balaclava still on his head Strickland, 19, sobbed as armed police arrested him and claimed he didn't know anything about the murder.

"I literally got picked up 10 minutes ago," he told them.

In fact he was behind the wheel of the stolen Fiesta ST when traffic police spotted it racing through Cardiff.

Strickland grew up around crime. His older brother Lee, a serial burglar and car thief, was one of three found guilty for the murder of Dr Gary Jenkins in Bute Park in July 2021.

Raisis, 18, sat in the back seat of the car as it left the scene of Mr O'Connor's murder.

The court heard he rummaged through the bag where he found less than £40.

Raisis was first to be arrested and police cameras showed him stumbling and falling as he tried to outrun officers.

Also obsessed with knives he, along with Strickland, chose not to give evidence in court.

His barrister told the jury Raisis, dressed in a light-coloured top and shorts, "was not dressed for mayhem".

At the time of his death, Mr O'Connor's family said: "He has left us far too soon, and he will be greatly missed by all of us.

"He was loved by his family and the local community."

Mr O'Connor's brother Johnny dubbed his sibling "an Alway lad through and through".

He said: "I'm still in shock, this doesn't seem real. None of this.

"My brother, was chopsy, but had a heart of gold."

His killers will be sentenced in the coming weeks.