Drug dealer's past as teenage killer unveiled

Peter Billington
-Credit:Merseyside Police


A drug dealer was previously convicted of manslaughter after stamping on a man's head and attacking him with a broom, a court heard. Peter Billington was found to have been dealing drugs despite his claims that he was being "terrorised" to store them.

But when officers examined his phone they found a series of messages which showed that he had been running an entire operation selling class A and B drugs which police described as "significant". The drugs were found after Merseyside Police executed a warrant at his address on Kendal Road in Wallasey, Wirral on June 26 2024.

Billington, 43, was the only person at the address. As police forced their way into the house, he had been coming down the stairs. Prosecutor Tom Challinor told the court that after entering the house police had fuond a 1kg block of cocaine at 83 percent purity in the bedroom, with '4444' branding on embossed on it, the Liverpool ECHO reports.

ADVERTISEMENT

READ MORE: Manchester man jailed for vile act in Yorkshire town

READ MORE: The 'reckless' menace to society behind bars for years after going for a drive

Further searches saw officers discover another half kilo of cocaine in a carrier bag. They also found 2kg of cannabis in carrier bags and plastic packs, as well as another 19 wraps of cocaine and 81 pills later found to be ketamine and MDMA.

When he was arrested Billington claimed that he had been "terrorised into doing this". In his police interview he added that he was "essentially being forced to store the drugs under threat".

But analysis of his phone told a very different story. No threats matching what he had described were found on the device, but they did find communications which were "consistent with someone buying wholesale quantities of cocaine and cannabis and selling them to end users".

ADVERTISEMENT

Billington, who also went by the name Peter Murphy, was alleged to have sold high purity, or "raw" drugs to other dealers in bulk. He also had a number of previous convictions. In total Billington has six previous convictions, including a life sentence in 2005 for wounding with intent.

Teenage killer

Among them was that as a teenager Billington had been convicted of manslaughter in January 1998 after launching a vicious attack using a broom. Billington, aged 15 at the time, had carried out a "sneak attack" on 22-year-old Anthony Hallas, leaving him lying in a pool of his own blood.

The attack on April 4 1997 saw Billington repeatedly strike his victim was "felled behind with a broom", with Billington delivering "two mighty blows" that were so hard the broom broke into three pieces. Billington then stamped twice on Anthony's head, and tragically he would later die of his injuries and Billington was given a four year sentence.

Then Recorder of Liverpool Judge David Clarke QC remarked on this occasion: "I wonder if the violence shown in films and videos does have an influence, but I do not know if it was an element in your case. But the message must go out and be reinforced that kicking in the head is highly dangerous."

ADVERTISEMENT

The judge "accepted that the strikes with the broom was a reasonable response" after Billington had been "cornered" by Mr Hallas, but said that the subsequent blows to the head amounted to criminal acts which led to his death. The defendant and a friend had earlier been chased by the deceased after they had reportedly tried to start a fight with three other boys, although he denied having stamped on the man's face and claimed to have been acting in defence of his acquitted co-defendant.

Andrew McInnes, defending, told the court during his latest appearance on Friday, January 17: "He had significant previous convictions when he was still a young man. He was released in 2013, and in the time since that release, save for the simple possession of cannabis in 2015, he has remained offence free.

"He concentrated on his family. He stayed out of trouble. He worked for a period until a significant injury to his back meant that he could no longer work.

"His mental health took a significant downturn. There was a significant bereavement, with the loss of his daughter's child. It led him down what he describes as a dark path.

"He says he was smoking cannabis and began to use alcohol. He describes making some very poor decisions. These are decisions that will not just impact upon him, but perhaps more so upon his family when they need to rely upon him.

ADVERTISEMENT

"He was using cannabis. He then became involved in the supply of drugs and we have that familiar downward spiral. He apologises for his involvement, both to the court and to his family in the public gallery.

"He is positive for the future, despite the fact that he knows it will be some time before he is released. He still retains hope for a positive future and hopes to support his family when he gets out."

Billington admitted possession of cocaine, cannabis, MDMA and ketamine with intent to supply. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was jailed for six years.

Sentencing, District Judge John McGarva said: "Obviously, this is serious offending. Drug dealing brings misery to countless lives. Cocaine is a particularly nasty drug. The evidence is that, far from being compelled to work, you were running a significant operation in selling drugs in relatively large amounts.

"On the positive, I have read a letter from you which shows a great deal of awareness for your situation and the gravity of the mistake you have made. You can only be described as a model prisoner."