'Cold-blooded' killers who shot dead man, 23, outside sister's engagement party jailed for life

Three ‘cold-blooded killers’ have been jailed for life after shooting a man dead outside his sister’s engagement party.

Matthew Cohen, 29, Dale Gordon, 33, and Keil Bryan, 32, were ordered to serve a minimum term of 30 years for the murder of Aseel Al-Essaie, who was gunned down in Sheffield last year.

The 23-year-old was shot at point blank range in his car.

Mr Al-Essaie was driving in a Mercedes, on his way to a family engagement party when the murder happened.

As he drove, a Volkswagen Golf driven by Cohen pulled up alongside and argument followed. Gordon and Bryan were also in the Golf.

As the row escalated, Gordon produced a .44 calibre gun, described in court as a ‘Dirty Harry style’ firearm with a large barrel, and fired at Mr Al-Essaie.

He was killed by a single gunshot wound to his shoulder as the bullet also punctured his lung, heart and abdomen.

The Volkswagen car was later found burned out four miles away from the incident, which took place in the Upperthorpe area of the city.

A fourth man, James Good, 29, was jailed for three years for perverting the course of justice after he set fire to the car.

After the sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court, the Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Steve Whittaker, said his thoughs were with the victim’s family.

‘I can only hope (they) are able to take some solace in knowing the men who are responsible for taking the life of their loved one in pure cold blood, are now behind bars where they belong.

‘The calculated actions of this trio, as well as Good, as they attempted to cover their tracks and destroy evidence that linked them to Mr Al-Essaie’s murder by burning out the car they used to fire the fatal shot from is absolutely deplorable.

‘They are cold blooded killers who have shown no remorse for their evil actions that day. ‘

In a statement from the family, Mr Al-Essaie’s mother Aneasa said: ‘No sentence will ever reflect the pain and heartache these senseless cowards have inflicted upon my family.

‘We will never come to terms with the loss and we will never be able to resume the life we once had.’