Yahoo News 'Dangerous' murderer seen laughing and joking in shop after stabbing man to death
A murderer was seen laughing and joking in a shop after stabbing his mother's former partner to death. Geoffrey Ives, 75, was killed in his own home in Heywood by 59-year-old Andrew Hall.
After the killing he took a taxi to an off-licence where footage showed him laughing and joking with the shopkeeper and other customers, Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Shortly afterwards, Hall then smashed his way into his own former partner's home, where he was banned from going under a court order, before trying to stab her son.
Hall was found guilty of murder and aggravated burglary with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm following a trial. He now faces a life sentence when he learns his fate at a later date.
Mr Ives had previously been in a relationship with Andrew Hall's mother Mary, who died around 2006, the trial heard. The relationship between Mr Ives and Hall was 'generally a good one', it was said.
"It had existed over a period of time and indeed got to the point that when Mr Hall needed somewhere to stay, Geoffrey Ives allowed him to stay at Geoffrey's flat," prosecutor Rob Hall said.
"Therefore the motive for Mr Hall killing Geoffrey Ives is not entirely clear," the prosecutor continued. But on the night of the killing, on January 27 last year, Hall turned up with 'pent-up anger and frustration'.
"And that pent-up anger and frustration meant it may be that Geoffrey Ives didn't have to do too much wrong for this defendant to lose his dangerous temper," Mr Hall said. The defendant walked from his sister's home, on Crown Road in Heywood, where he was living, into the town centre before arriving at the flat on Hardfield Road at 9:57pm.
CCTV showed Mr Ives letting him in. Hall attacked Mr Ives at some point before he left the flat at 10:18pm. Hall, who was armed with a 'vegetable knife' and a 'trimming Stanley-style knife', had 'repeatedly stabbed him to the face and neck with force.'
Immediately after leaving Mr Ives' flat, the court heard that Hall took a taxi to the ZK Off Licence on Hollin Lane in Middleton, close to his ex-partner Julie Proctor's home, arriving at 10:27pm. "You may think it's remarkable, having stabbed Mr Ives to death some 15 minutes earlier, that the defendant is presenting in a lot of respects as perfectly normal," prosecutor Mr Hall said.
Hall and Ms Proctor had been in a relationship since 2018 but within months he 'began drinking and becoming paranoid, including repeatedly asking about her former partners.'
In October 2022 Ms Proctor ended their relationship 'due to his obsession with her former partners and associated unsettling behaviour'. "The defendant didn't take the ending of that relationship well," prosecutor Mr Hall said. He said that Hall had sent abusive messages including a threat to kill her and was charged with three offences.
On December 14, 2022, when being sentenced by magistrates, he was made subject to a restraining order which prohibited him from contacting Ms Proctor or going to her address. Then January 27, about 40 minutes after he killed Mr Ives, Hall left the off-licence and walked the short distance to Ms Proctor's home on Rochdale Road.
'By chance' Ms Proctor wasn't home but her five children were, the eldest being 22-year-old Jack Dunleavy. At 10:58pm his sister Chanice Longshaw rang police with the audio of the 999 call played in court. She could be heard screaming as she told the operator that Mr Hall had broken in. Prosecutors said he issued threats as he demanded to know where his ex-partner was.
The 'vegetable knife' used to murder Mr Ives was recovered from a bedroom in the house after Hall 'dropped it'. After being arrested at Ms Proctor's house, Hall was taken to hospital but was found to have suffered merely a 'superficial cut' and bruising. He was eventually taken into custody but gave no comment to questions in interview. He was charged with aggravated burglary. The police were, at this stage, unaware of Mr Ives' death. Two days later, on Sunday, January 29, his body was discovered after a neighbour said she had not seen him for several days.
Police forced entry at 7:45pm and entered with paramedics where Mr Ives was found 'slumped' in front of his sofa. He was found to have suffered four stab wounds to his neck and two stab wounds to his face. Hall was convicted following a three-week trial. He had already pleaded guilty to a charge of breaching the court order which banned him from going to Ms Proctor's address.
After the hearing, Joanne Cunliffe, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Andrew Hall is clearly a very dangerous man who was prepared to threaten and use violence against anyone he crossed paths with that night. After carrying out an unprovoked knife attack on the man who he considered a friend, he left him to bleed to death, took the murder weapon to his ex-partners home and threatened to hurt her family with it if they did not tell him where she was.
"We worked closely with the police to build a strong case against him. After carefully considering the evidence we presented to the jury, including extensive CCTV footage and forensic evidence, they have today found him guilty of the offences he faced. My thoughts are with the family and friends of Geoffrey Ives at this difficult time, and with all those affected by his violent actions that night."
