Sign up for the ECHO's free crime newsletter where we champion the important stories

The ECHO releases a crime and investigations newsletter every Friday afternoon that highlights the work our reporters do every week in telling some of the most important stories in our region. Curated by me, the ECHO's crime reporter, the newsletter will pick out six stories that I believe really demonstrate the importance of crime and court reporting.

Our communities, like so many others across the UK, are no strangers to acts of unspeakable criminality, whether it be at the hands of petty thugs, organised crime groups intent on causing devastation to the hardworking people around them or vile sex offenders who wreck lives. But highlighting these acts, and giving the victims and their families a voice is vital to ensuring justice can properly be served.

This week's newsletter did just that. In one story, Ben Roberts-Haslam, our Southport reporter who knows the patch like the back of his hand, went down to the estate in Banks where the man accused of stabbing three girls to death in Southport lived. Ben heard from families who are living in the area about the threats, both online and in person, that they have had to endure in the recent weeks.

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Katie Westwood, a general reporter with a particular interest in reporting on acts of violence against women, interviewed a brave victim of domestic violence who has spoken out to warn other women about Jamie Johnson - her former partner who carried out a vicious and sustained attack on her earlier this year.

We have also had confirmation that Colin Eedle - a thug who stabbed a young man to death in a drunken rage back in 2000 - will be released for a second time following a parole hearing earlier this year. It’s a case I’ve followed closely in recent weeks and, for the first time, we can confirm the reason Eedle was previously recalled on licence was because of allegations of domestic abuse.

It’s been a busy week as usual in court. I was in a case this week that heard how a teenager’s DNA was found on the trigger of a gun used in a targeted shooting. It was one of a number of shootings in the Huyton area during a particularly devastating period of gun violence in 2021.

An inquest also opened on Monday into the death of a sex offender who died in his cell at HMP Liverpool. The inquest heard he was found next to a note that alleged a prison officer had ignored his calls for help. The inquest will continue into next week.

If you're interested in the judicial process and how we report on crime once it reaches the regions' courts, you can follow all our coverage led by our dedicated reporter Adam Everett here. Adam is one of the best court reporters in the country and has covered a number of high profile cases including murder trials over the deaths of Olivia Pratt Korbel, Ashley Dale and Brianna Ghey.

Later today we will be publishing a piece looking at the strict rules that a number of Merseyside criminals have to abide by after the National Crime Agency released their latest list of auxiliary orders. Looking ahead to next week, the Thirlwall Inquiry, which will investigate the goings-on at the Countess of Chester Hospital while convicted child killer Lucy Letby worked there, is due to begin. We will have coverage of its opening when it begins at Liverpool Town Hall on Tuesday.

Thank you for taking an interest in our court and crime coverage and trusting you with your stories. You can contact me directly at patrick.edrich@reachplc.com or our news desk at news@liverpool.com.

If you would like to sign up to the crime newsletter, published every Friday at 3pm, click here.