Paul Taylor (murderer)
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Paul Taylor, born 1985, is an English man from the Liverpool suburb of Huyton, who was found guilty of the July 2005 murder of Anthony Walker.
In what has been described as a race-hate crime, Taylor, along with his cousin Michael Barton, attacked Walker, an 18-year-old of West-Indian descent, with an ice axe near to McGoldrick Park in Liverpool.
Walker died of injuries to the head.
The pair were tried by Preston Crown Court. Taylor pleaded guilty to murder but Barton, who denied the same charge, was convicted of the killing on the grounds he supplied the weapon and started the confrontation.
Both men were sentenced on 1 December 2005. The trial judge recommended a minimum term of 23 years and eight months for Taylor, while Barton, the half-brother of footballer Joey Barton, was given a recommended mimimum term of 17 years and eight months.[1]
As a result, Taylor is expected to remain in prison until at least August 2028 and the age of 43.
Three more people were found guilty of helping Barton and Taylor flee to the Netherlands before their eventual arrest. On 10 May 2006 Robert Williams was convicted of providing money and booking a hotel room for the pair. He was sentenced to two years and four months. Paul Morson sentenced to 11 months in prison for providing a getaway car. Tracy Garner admitted assisting an offender and received an 11-month suspended sentence.[2]
