The locked up Yorkshire 'lifers' set to rot behind bars for decades
The wheels of justice have continued to roll on throughout the past year while protecting us all from Yorkshire's worst criminals.
Murderers, paedophiles and rapists have been thrown behind bars for their barbaric crimes. Over the 12 months, there have 21 criminals thrown behind bars for more than 20 years for their despicable actions.
We've rounded up a list of these people locked up for long stretches since May 2023. Some were jailed for life with a minimum tariff, while others were jailed for up to 30 years.
Have a scroll below to stare into the eyes of each of these monsters and read about their brutal crimes.
Read more: The 36 criminals locked up in Yorkshire in April
Roger Harriott
Roger Harriott, 56, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years for the "brutal, vicious and mercliless" murder of his sister Sandra Harriott as she left her home in Ripon Avenue early on May 26 last year.
Leeds Crown Court heard Harriott "lied in wait" for Sandra before attacking her with a 55cm Samurai sword. His struck Sandra eight times with the blade, stabbed her twice and went to leave before turning back and stabbing her once more in the chest.
Daniel Balazs
On August 9, 2023, at around 9pm, Daniel Balazs, 21. stabbed 28-year-old Daniel Micska in the chest with a 12cm knife on Newton Street in Barnsley. He fled the scene and Daniel was left bleeding out, begging people to call an ambulance.
On February 14, he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years. He was also sentenced to 12 months for possession of an offensive weapon and will serve the sentences concurrently.
John Haase
Pensioner Haase travelled from Liverpool to Sheffield to set a car on fire after demanding thousands of pounds from a family.
When the owners refused to hand over the cash he returned five days later and set fire to a Range Rover parked outside their home. It spread to the garage and then to the house, causing extensive damage. He had previously been jailed for 22 years for perverting the course of justice and was ordered to serve the rest of that as well as the nine years imposed for committing arson with intent.
Ian Mitchell
Ian Mitchell murdered his stepfather Stephen Kershaw, with his girlfriend Sarah Pearson, and then went on a bender with his money.
The cruel couple were caught on CCTV buying items at shops including JD Sports and River Island while Mr Kershaw's body was stuffed in an alcove in his own bedroom. After they were arrested, Pearson told a man she had sex with what they had done. She went on to admit the crime to two prison officers and was also recorded in a prison van discussing it with Mitchell.
They were both handed life sentences with minimum terms of 22 years for Mitchell and 19 years for Pearson.
Ronald Sekanjako
FedEx worker Sekanjako was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years for the murder of Philip Woodcock.
Jurors heard how he had stabbed the 60-year-old three times in front of horrified colleagues at the FedEx depot in Hellaby in November last year. It was said that Sekanjako had been convinced his pay had been incorrect and had made demands as he entered the office area. Company records showed Sekanjako had in fact been paid correctly and that the latest invoice had been settled an hour before Mr Woodcock's death.
Anmol Chana
Chana was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 36 years at "Monster Mansion," HMP Wakefield, for the murders of his mother and stepfather when he targeted a fellow inmate.
He appeared in the doorway of the man's cell and threw very hot water at his face. The man suffered injuries to his face and chest and was left in excruciating pain in the attack. Another two years were added onto Chana's sentence.
David Scott
Evil Scott bludgeoned Sarah Brierley to death with a claw hammer in a jealous rage and stole from her while she lay dead.
He told handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 29 years in November after a jury found him guilty of murder. Scott's ex-girlfriend, Zoe Clark, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter but guilty of theft alongside him. The charge related to the couple stealing a TV, pressure cooker and coffee machine while Sarah lay dead. She was jailed for a year.
Michael Cavanagh
Barnsley predator Cavanagh was jailed for 25 years after he was found guilty of a number of sex offences which were said to have caused "unimaginable suffering" to a woman and child.
The offences dated back to the 1990s and both victims came forward and reported Cavanagh’s offending separately in 2019.
Arbab Yusuf, Mohammad Ashraf, Robert Crookes, Kieron Millar and a 17-year-old boy
Yusuf, Ashraf, Crookes, Millar and a 17-year-old were convicted of murdering Adam Clapham after torturing him in a cellar at a Rotherham drug house where £300 had gone missing.
Ashraf, Crookes and the 17-year-old were also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, false imprisonment and rape.
Millar was convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent and false imprisonment along with Lynette Myers, 39.
Another man was also tortured and raped in the cellar alongside Adam but managed to get escape and was found in Rotherham centre with serious injuries. Adam's body was found at the Spring Street property the next day, September 19 last year.
Yusuf was jailed for a minimum term of 39 years. The judge said there was an "element of revenge" in his case. Crookes was jailed 37 years, Millar 30 years, Ashraf 28 years and the youth 21 years. Myers was jailed for 12 years.
As Yusuf was sentenced, cheers and shouts of "yes" echoed around the court room from the public gallery.
Dale Osborne
"Danger to women" Osborne was jailed for 22 years after he was found guilty of 22 sick offences.
He had been convicted by a jury following a trial in February of nine rapes, six actual bodily harm offences, one attempted rape, one sexual assault, three threats to kill and two false imprisonments. The offences related to three victims and took place between 2002 and 2014.
Michael Johnson
Sick paedophile Johnson is finally behind bars after escaping justice in the 1990s.
He finally admitted a catalogue of sex offences and was found guilty of 14 more after a trial and jailed for 23 years. The offences were committed against a girl and a woman in the 1980s and 1990s and included rape, attempted rape, indecent assault and inciting a girl to commit an act of gross indecency.
North Yorkshire Police said that some of the offences were reported in the late 1990s, but Johnson, of Barlby in Selby, manipulated the victim and her family and the complaint was withdrawn. In 2020, she made a further complaint to North Yorkshire Police and he was charged.
Clare Bailey
Scorned teacher Bailey was jailed for 22 years after she carried out a horrific and violent knife attack on her love rival.
Bailey was having an affair with the woman's husband, and soon after he had ended their relationship, she arrived at the woman's family home in Harrogate on their Ring doorbell. She was wearing a red wig and holding a bunch of flowers she had bought from a nearby Sainsbury's before launching into the blood-thirsty knife attack.
She had previously sent flowers with a hand-written note to the family home making out the man's wife was having an affair before calling her work.
Michael Peter Wilson
Sick Wilson was jailed after being found guilty of sexually abusing a child in Doncaster. It was said he subjected the girl - who was under 13-years-old - to numerous and repeated sexual offences.
He was jailed for 21 years.
Max Lambert, Liam Whitaker and Liam Hanbury
Sadistic gang members Lambert, Whitaker and Hanbury, tailgated the car their victim was a passenger in and pounced on him as he reached his mum's house before chopping off his leg. The trio had armed themselves with a machete, axe and sledgehammer for the attack which left the man too scared to give evidence in court.
They then went to extreme lengths to cover up their tracks - even burning the car they had travelled in - but they did not suspect their victim could recognise them. After his screams alerted neighbours and the police were called, he named Lambert as one of the attackers.
Lambert, Whitaker and Hanbury were all jailed for 30 years and were told they must serve three quarters of that sentence in custody before going before the Parole Board who will determine if they are safe to be released.
Ian Neasham
A man has been found guilty of multiple rapes and sexual assaults against girls as young as 10 years old.
Ian Neasham, 64, from Londonderry Village in North Yorkshire has been jailed for 28 years, which will be followed by a four-year extended licence. He has also been placed on the sex offenders list indefinitely and will need to serve at least two thirds of his custodial term before being eligible for release.
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