Dad waits for answers after police 'missed opportunities to charge son's killer' before gun murder

A dad whose son was murdered has questioned why police did not charge one of his killers when his DNA was found on a gun during an earlier investigation. Mikey Rainsford was 20 when he was shot twice while standing in the kitchen of his home on Harrington Road in Litherland by brothers James and Michael Foy in revenge for something he had nothing to do with.

The Foys, members of the Linacre Young Guns gang, shot Mikey less than an hour after a brick had been thrown through their mum's window on April 7 2020. The brothers were convicted of murder following a high profile trial in 2021 and were both handed life sentences with extensive minimum terms.

But Mikey's dad Michael Sr has repeatedly claimed Merseyside Police had information which tied James Foy to another firearm found by officers following a search of a Bootle home in 2019. Mr Rainsford also claimed that Merseyside Police "deliberately misled the coroner" regarding why James Foy was not charged with the offence in the months before Mikey was murdered.

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Following a complaint about the force's handling of the investigations, Merseyside Police carried out a review of Mr Rainsford's claims. However, the dad appealed the outcome to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) who upheld several of his complaints and ordered Merseyside Police to re-investigate back in January 2023.

Mr Rainsford claimed the force are "stonewalling his attempts to get answers". A spokesperson for Merseyside Police told the ECHO this week: "We are now in the final stages of finalising the report and Mr Rainsford was informed last month of this update." Although Mr Rainsford has repeatedly made various claims against Merseyside Police, the ECHO has for the first time seen a number of pieces of documentation that he said support the allegations.

On November 3 2019, drug dealer Carl Mercer, of Longfield Road in Bootle, called the police and said he was under threat from gang members. After police arrived and arrested him, he informed officers that there was a firearm and ammunition inside the house. Officers found a firearm and swabs were taken and sent to a forensics company.

The ECHO has seen two forensic reports that reference a sample from James Foy, first in February 7 2020 and again on March 10 of the same year. The report from March 10 indicates the DNA "fully represented" James Foy. It said: "The reference profile of James Foy is fully represented within the mixed result and matches the more prominently represented components such that he could be a substantial contributor of DNA to it."

The report's author added: "I further understand that James Foy is believed to have a connection to the covered items. I have not been provided with an account from him." The forensic report from March 10 was sent back to the police nearly a month before Mikey was shot dead on April 7.

However, Mr Rainsford claimed he has since spoken with experts who said police forces can obtain forensic reports on a "10 to 14 day turnaround". He told the ECHO: "Why did this investigation take months given the violent criminal timeline of the Foys? The police had the golden egg but it took six months from when they had the gun. They shelved evidence that could have charged my son's killer. By the time they acted Mikey had been murdered."

Mr Rainsford claimed that during an inquest held at Bootle Town Hall by a senior coroner, Merseyside Police's investigation team said officers were "made aware that a partial DNA profile for James Foy had been found [on] the magazine of the firearm recovered from Carl Mercer. However, the fact that it was a partial DNA profile and was from a part of the gun that was removable meant there was insufficient evidence to charge James Foy at the time."

A record of the inquest seen by the ECHO shows that when James Foy was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Mikey, "it was also considered appropriate to question him about the Longfield Road matter, to establish that he had access to parts of firearms". The document added: "In light of the murder and use of a firearm for the murder, the CPS determined it was appropriate to charge for possession of the firearm and seek a remand in custody, due to the partial profile from Longfield Road".

However, Mr Rainsford has claimed that Merseyside Police provided incorrect information to the coroner regarding the forensics on the magazine. The ECHO has seen an email from a senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor who told Mr Rainsford that although the magazine is referred to as a removable part of the weapon, "as the magazine was found within the firearm, he was charged in respect of the firearm as a whole".

They added: "It is true to say that if the magazine had been found just on its own, then we would have had difficulty with such a charge." Mr Rainsford claims that given the magazine was attached to the weapon Merseyside Police had enough evidence to initiate a "standalone charge" of possession of a firearm in the weeks before his son was murdered. When James Foy was sentenced for Mikey's murder he was also sentenced for possession of the firearm found in the Bootle home.

Following the brick attack at their mum's house while she was home alone on April 7 2020, the Foy brothers arranged to meet. James picked up Michael from his girlfriend's house in Waterloo before inspecting the damage. CCTV and phone data tracked the brothers through the streets before they arrived at Mikey's home.

Two bullets were fired from his back garden, both finding their target. Mikey died in his dad's arms. Prosecutors claimed the shooting was an act of "supposed retribution" for the brick incident. The CPS said the brothers were associated with local gang Linacre Young Guns, which rivalled the Kirkstone Riot Squad. The ECHO has seen three gang injunction notices where the brothers' names are mentioned.

The CPS said there had been "conflicts" between the two rival gangs in Bootle, Seaforth and Litherland before Mikey's murder. In the dock alongside the Foy brothers were their mum Joyce Smith, uncle Craig Johnson and neighbour Andrew Saunderson, who were all found guilty of perverting the course of justice. On the day James Foy was sentenced, his barrister Christopher Henley KC said: "He wants the court to know it was him that fired the gun that night."

In a previous interview with the ECHO ahead of the ITVX programme The Murder of Mikey Rainsford, Mr Rainsford said the family had to move away from their home following his son's death. He said: "As a family we had to try and balance the millions of memories we had in that home with this one horrific nightmare."

He added: "Michael was such an integral part of our family. We talk about him being the biggest cog in it with his strength and how he looked after his brother and sister during his life. He was physically and mentally strong."

Speaking to the ECHO this week, Mr Rainsford added: "I speak to families who get closure. It's not the closure they want of course, but they get it and can try and move on. I have had doors closed and have just been batted back when I've tried to get the truth. The answers will come out but it has stagnated again."

Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Andy Ryan said: "First and foremost, our thoughts and sympathies remain with Michael’s family as they continue to grieve following his tragic murder in 2020. We know that the use of firearms can devastate innocent families and it’s clear that Michael was killed in a case of mistaken identity.

"In court it was heard that Michael was targeted because Michael Foy and James Foy wrongly assumed that he had broken the window at their home address. There was no advance warning so sadly it would not have been possible to predict what happened to Michael on that night.

"Following an investigation and trial, Michael Foy, then aged 22, was found guilty of Michael’s murder and sentenced to life in prison to serve a minimum of 30 years. James Foy, then aged 18, was found guilty of murder and possession of a firearm and sentenced to life in prison to serve a minimum of 28 years. He was also given five years to run concurrently for a firearms offence which was not linked to the murder.

"Justice has been done, but it won’t bring Michael back and his family will have to live with that for the rest of their lives. Following a complaint made by Michael’s father, we carried out a review and investigated his claims fully. A written response was also provided to Mr Rainsford.

"He appealed this outcome to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and it came back to us in January 2023 to be re-investigated with recommendations for further inquiries to be carried out by our Professional Standards Department. We understand that Michael’s family have been left frustrated at the time it has taken, but it’s vital that we carry out thorough and proper inquiries before completing our findings.

"We are now in the final stages of finalising the report and Mr Rainsford was informed last month of this update. Once the report has been completed, it will be sent to Michael’s family." The IOPC previously told the ECHO: "It is for Merseyside Police to carry out the additional investigational work required and the complainant will have a further right of review should they remain dissatisfied with the outcome."