Four jailed for life for murder in Derbyshire village

Four Derbyshire men have been convicted of the murder of a 21-year-old, whose body was discovered at a remote spot in Breaston in June 2023.

Jack Towell, 22, from Nottingham, David Oswald, 31, from Birmingham, and two men who cannot be named for legal reasons plotted together to lure Owen Fairclough, from Long Eaton, to a meeting point late in the evening of 21 June. Towell met him from his taxi and walked him to a remote spot, where Oswald and one of the men who cannot be named (Man A) were hiding. Mr Fairclough was ambushed by the three of them, was fatally stabbed and had his throat cut. The three of them then hid his body next to a nearby stream where he was discovered, almost two days later, by a group of teenage boys.

The prosecution’s case was that the three who carried out the attack and the fourth man (Man B) planned the killing because they thought Mr Fairclough was about to expose their criminal activities and had been pressing Towell about a significant debt owed to him. They planned the killing together and left it to Towell, Oswald and Man A to carry it out.

All four were tried for Mr Fairclough’s murder at Derby Crown Court. After four weeks of the trial, Towell admitted his guilt. The CPS continued the prosecution of the others involved. Oswald and Man A were found guilty on 19 November and Man B was found guilty on 22 November.

All four were today, 25 November, given life sentences. Towell was given a minimum term of 30 years, Man A was given a minimum term of 29 years, Oswald received a minimum term of 26 years and Man B was given a minimum term of 25 years.

Samantha Shallow, from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This was a planned, calculated and cold-blooded killing. Towell, and his associates identified Owen Fairclough as a threat to their criminal activities and made up their minds that they would kill him. They recruited Oswald to assist in their plan.

“The prosecution’s case was that the four of them planned the killing, so they were each responsible for Owen’s death. Whether they were part of the planning or whether they were part of the fatal ambush, they are all guilty of his murder.

“I would like to offer my heartfelt sympathies to Owen’s family and loved ones as they come to terms with this sudden and tragic loss.”

Building the Case

The task facing the prosecution was to prove that all four defendants, not just the three who carried out the attack were guilty of murder. They had spent the days before making their plan and Owen Fairclough’s murder was the fulfilment of that plan.

Evidence from the defendants’ phones showed extensive contact between the four defendants and contact between each other and between Towell and Mr Fairclough.

Towell had claimed that he had been due to meet Mr Fairclough, but that he had not turned up. The phone evidence demonstrated that he had been in frequent contact with Mr Fairclough, but this had stopped as soon as they had met up and Mr Fairclough had been killed. This was presented as evidence that had Mr Fairclough not met Towell as planned, the same level of contact would have continued. The reason he stopped trying to to contact him before the body was discovered was that he had been involved in his death.

The CPS presented evidence of a photo on Man B’s phone, taken at Man A’s address the night before the murder, of a knife that was not recovered in the extensive searches conducted during the investigation.

The prosecution was able to show the three had been at the scene as they were captured on CCTV.