Man who shot Rikki Berry dead absent from court as murder trial continues

Rikki Berry was fatally shot
-Credit:Merseyside Police


The man who shot Rikki Berry dead was absent from court as the murder trial continued this afternoon. Michael Smith pleaded guilty to the 36-year-old's manslaughter at Liverpool Crown Court this morning, Tuesday.

He continued to follow proceedings before leaving the dock shortly before the lunch adjournment. However, the 25-year-old then failed to resume his position in the courtroom following the break.

Addressing the jury of eight men and four women, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said: "You will note that Michael Smith is absent from the dock. Pay no heed to the fact that he is not here in the dock. Please do not speculate at all why he is not with us. He is represented by counsel, and the trial will carry on in his absence."

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Mr Berry, who was known as "Nuggy", died after being shot three times by a balaclava-clad assailant on an electric bike outside his girlfriend's house on Quarryside Drive in Kirkby in the early evening of July 17 last year. Smith, of Marbury Road, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence when these counts were added to the indictment today.

David McLachlan KC, prosecuting, told the court of Smith's guilty pleas: "Those pleas are not acceptable to the prosecution. The trial continues against him."

The trial judge meanwhile added: "He admits being the man on the bike. He admits being the gunman. He admits discharging the gun and that, as a consequence of his actions, Rikki Berry was unlawfully killed.

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"He does not admit intending to shoot Mr Berry. I anticipate that it might be the defendant's case that his intention was simply to frighten Mr Berry and that the fatal injury was, in fact, unintended.

"The pleas to these lesser offences are not accepted by the prosecution. They say that this is a deliberate shooting targeting Mr Berry, and it is therefore a case of murder. That, I anticipate, will be the central issue for you to determine in relation to Mr Smith. Did he intend to shoot Mr Berry?"

Smith's co-defendants Adam Williams and Connor Walsh are alleged to have performed a "reconnaissance mission" on the address in advance of the shooting before travelling in convoy alongside the balaclava-clad gunman in a black SUV during the drive-by attack. All three defendants deny murder and possession of a prohibited weapon with intent to endanger life.

Williams, aged 26 and of Hamblett Crescent in St Helens, and Walsh, also 26 and of Simonswood Lane, have also pleaded not guilty to the charges of manslaughter and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. The trial continues.