Shane O'Brien guilty: ‘Most wanted’ fugitive convicted of murder after international manhunt

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One of Britain's most wanted fugitives has been convicted of murder after a three-and-a-half-year international manhunt.

Shane O'Brien slashed 21-year-old Josh Hanson's neck in an act of "pitiless savagery" at a west London bar before fleeing the country in a private plane in 2015.

Council worker Mr Hanson clutched his wound as his horrified girlfriend watched blood pour from the 37cm gaping gash from his left ear to right chest, the Old Bailey heard.

Shane O'Brien after his arrest in Romania in March
Reuters

Father-of-two O'Brien then calmly walked out of RE Bar in Hillingdon, north west London, in the early hours of October 11 before escaping with the help of a friend called "Vanessa".

With her assistance, he secured a private four-seat plane to take him from Biggin Hill airport to the Netherlands, beginning his life on the run.

Josh Hanson was savagely slashed across the neck by O'Brien in 2015
PA

The 31-year-old grew long hair and a beard and got the tattoo of his child's name covered over as he used false identity documents to travel to countries including Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

The court heard how O'Brien "cried like a baby" while getting his existing tattoos concealed with an elaborate design of an owl clutching a skull between its talons.

A tattoo artist in Prague named Thiago said the 31-year-old was anxious to have the menacing image completed as quickly as possible, but cried at the pain of being inked.

Jurors heard how O'Brien 'cried like a baby' when he got a large tattoo inked on his back to conceal the name of one of his children 
Met Police

Friends helped the boxing and martial arts fan evade authorities after he was added to both Europol and Interpol's most wanted lists, jurors heard.

Despite being arrested in Prague in 2017 for assault, he managed to slip through the net after using the alias Enzo Melloncelli and fleeing when released on bail.

He was eventually captured in Romania on March 23 this year and brought back to Britain on April 5 to face trial for Mr Hanson's murder.

O'Brien told jurors he had felt threatened by Mr Hanson's "very aggressive body language", saying he felt the road planner was "ready to attack me" and may have been armed.

As the bar was closing, he approached Mr Hanson, asking him "what's your problem?" before pulling the knife from a pocket of his expensive Canada Goose jacket and fatally slashing his victim.

O'Brien claimed he wanted only to "pretend to attack" Mr Hanson with the blade to "scare him", adding: "From the bottom of my heart, I did not mean to touch him with that blade."

But jurors convicted him of murder after 55 minutes of deliberations.

O'Brien stared ahead and showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was returned.

Josh Hanson, seen with mother Tracey, before his murder in 2015

Mr Hanson's mother Tracey said following the ruling: "Today after nearly four years and shy of two weeks before Josh’s fourth year anniversary justice was served.

"Josh was innocent and the attack on him was totally unprovoked and we hope that a whole life term will be handed down by the judge at sentencing.

"The last time I spoke to my son was on the phone at 10.30pm that evening and at the end of the phone call we said ‘I love you’ to one another the way we had always ended our conversations.

"Life for us will never be the same without Josh, it is very different from the one that was once familiar to us, and if you see a smile on my face know that there will always be sadness behind it."

O'Brien will be sentenced by judge Nigel Lickley QC on October 17.

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