Yahoo News The Mancunian Way: Who killed Jessie James?
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It was perhaps the most shocking killing in a long-running feud littered with them. And to this day, the gunman who shot dead 15-year-old Jessie James in Moss Side in 2006 has not been identified.
Almost two decades on it remains an unsolved murder and rewards for information are still unclaimed. While detectives remain open-minded about the motive for the shooting, all roads lead them to the same man, Gooch gang leader Lee Amos, crime reporter John Scheerhout writes.
Last Monday Amos, 48, died at HMP Oakwood in Staffordshire where he was serving life for a drive-by killing carried out in 2007. The details of his death have not yet been revealed but Staffordshire Police have confirmed they have ruled out foul play and are not treating it as suspicious.
For the detectives who investigated Jessie's murder it is a significant moment. It appears Amos has taken to the grave any knowledge, or even guilt, over Jessie’s killing.
One senior officer told the Manchester Evening News: "His name was in the mix. There's no doubt about that. But in the end there was no evidence that he pulled the trigger. For me, there were other stronger candidates but his name was certainly linked."
You can read the full piece here
On the road again
Having been debated, discussed and argued over for almost 60 years, is the Mottram bypass now finally going to be built? Local MP Jonathan Reynolds certainly hopes so.
He has hailed the High Court's decision to knock back the Campaign to Protect Rural England’s legal challenge to block the road’s construction as ‘brilliant news’ adding: ‘“The end is finally in sight.” The £228m scheme is designed to tackle congestion between Manchester and Sheffield at one of the north’s worst bottlenecks.
Work was due to start in the earlier part of 2023, but the legal challenge put a halt on proceedings. Now however it could finally go ahead.
But, as anyone even vaguely familiar with the long-running saga will know we’ve been here before… a few times. And objections to the plans, including the damage to the countryside it will cause and concerns it won’t in fact ease congestion in the Glossop and Hollingworth, remain.
But this time the noises coming from those in the know are especially bullish. Mr Reynolds said the court’s decision removed the ‘final legal hurdle’ and declared confidently ‘the bypass is finally getting built’.
Two charged in Salford murder probe
There have been several significant developments in the Kersal Dale murder probe over the weekend. The investigation was launched on April 4 after a passer-by found a lower back, buttocks and a thigh wrapped in multiple sheets of cellophane in the country park in Salford.
On Saturday and Sunday four separate police cordons were put in place at Blackleach Country Park in Walkden, Worsley Road in Winton, Linnyshaw Colliery Wood also in Salford and Mitchell Street in Bury, as GMP announced that further human remains had been found.
Body parts were discovered by divers in the reservoir at Blackleach Country Park, with further remains also uncovered by a dog walker 'in a package' at Linnyshaw Colliery Wood.
Det Supt Lewis Hughes said police were 'very confident' that they were the same victim. And it has also been revealed that the victim is thought to be a man in his 60s from Salford.
Although formal ID has not yet taken place, his family have been informed of the discovery and are currently being supported by specialist officers.
Today two men have been charged with murder in relation to the investigation. Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski, 68, and Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, both of Worsley Road, Eccles, were due to appear at Tameside magistrates court this afternoon.
More human remains were also found in an alleyway close to railway lines off Worsley Road this morning, police have confirmed.
Searches are continuing today. You can follow our live coverage here…
The sand dunes of Salford
As we’ve just heard Kersal Dale has been in the headlines for the most macabre of reasons this last fortnight. But the dale and the moor that surrounds it also have a fascinating place in Greater Manchester's history - from its geological quirks to its role in working class movements and sporting life.
The soft, sandy soil, and vast open spaces made it the ideal location for a racecourse. Remnants of the track, which was in operation on-an-off in various locations for around 300 years until 1963, can still be found on the 20 acres which make up the moor.
So too can sand dunes, whose origin was forged from the melting of glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age leaving the subsoil being made up of sand and gravel. And the moor was also a focus point for political and social upheaval.
In 1818 a protest meeting was held there by coal miners demanding better pay because of the dangers they faced at work. And in 1838, a crowd estimated by the Manchester Guardian to be 30,000 attended a Chartist meeting to protest for political rights for the working classes.
The Morning Advertiser, describing it as 'The Great Meeting of the Radicals of Lancashire', claimed it was ten times that size. Neal Keeling has more here…
The vlogger charging £13 a month for creepy footage of Manchester women
Police are 'assessing' a Patreon account allowing paying subscribers to access videos sexualising women on the streets of Manchester city centre after an investigation by reporter Nicole Wootton-Cane. Videos posted for subscribers paying £13 per month zoom in on women's chests and bottoms as they walk, unaware they are being filmed.
Several clips show women being followed as they walk in the Deansgate and Peter Street area. In one clip, a woman's full breast is exposed and filmed in slow motion as it slips from her top.
The account is a disturbing development of the viral 'Manchester nightlife' videos, which have seen women filmed while on nights out in Manchester city centre and posted on social media for views. The videos, which appear to prey on intoxicated women, have caused outrage online and seen Greater Manchester Police urge affected women to come forward.
The account was removed after the M.E.N approached Patreon for comment. A Patreon spokesperson said the platform has 'zero tolerance for works featuring non-consensual intimate imagery'. More here
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Weather etc
Tuesday: Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by lunchtime, 18C.
Trains: Possible disruption on Northern trains this week due to industrial action running until Saturday, May 4.
Manchester headlines
Man found dead: A man was found dead in Manchester city centre this morning after emergency services were called to 'reports of concern for his welfare'. Police and paramedics were called to Jack Rosenthal Street at around 6,.10am today (Monday). Sadly, a man - aged in his 50s - was pronounced dead on the scene. An investigation is now ongoing. Read more
Poll: A new poll published ahead of the Greater Manchester mayoral election next week suggests we could be in store for a surprise. Labour's Andy Burnham, who has served as the city-region's mayor since 2017, is expected to cruise towards a third term in office. But the battle for second place looks set to throw up some surprising results. More here
Tragedy chanting: A man has been charged for tragedy chanting at Old Trafford. The 44-year-old man who was arrested in the away section of the stadium during the match between Manchester United and Burnley on Saturday was charged after the game.
Worth a read
Voters go to the polls in the local elections on Thursday. And one town which could throw up a few surprises is Wigan.
Here local democracy reporter Nick Jackson looks at how independent candidates could have a big say in how things go in a borough that’s been dominated by Labour for half a century.
