Leon Ramsden gets life for murder of Paul Gilligan [NEWS ITEM]: Manchester
(BL1 - Thursday, 29 January, 2009)

A 19-year-old man has been jailed for the murder of Paul Gilligan.

Leon Ramsden (13/02/1989) of Turnstone Road, Bolton was today 29 January 2009, found guilty of murdering 31-year-old Paul Gilligan.

He has been sentenced to life imprisonment and was ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years.

Ramsden was in The Pepper Alley pub, Bolton in the early hours of Sunday 13 July 2008.

There were around 100 people in the club at the time and many saw the attack on Paul.

Paul had been speaking with Ramsden before the attack happened. They had been involved in a 'playful fight' where Paul rubbed Ramsden's hair in front of people.

Ramsden took offence at this and walked away from Paul for a matter of seconds.

He armed himself with the knife, walked back to Paul and stabbed him once in his left shoulder and to the left side of his chest.

A post mortem revealed Paul died from a stab wound to the heart.

Ramsden ran from the club and a short time later went into another nightclub on Bradshawgate, Bolton.

Security staff at the club discovered an empty knife sheath down the front waistband of Ramsden's jeans.

He was arrested and later charged with murder.

It was later discovered Ramsden had written on his Facebook profile a few hours before Paul was stabbed

"im twisted at home my eds up my a*** feel like killin some1 need 2 stay off the strong stuff ha f*** it. Its saturday ha".

The murder weapon has never been recovered.

Witnesses were granted anonymity during the trial after a High Court Judge heard of Lee Ramsden's violent history and the adverse affect this could have on potential witnesses giving evidence.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Roters, Deputy Senior Investigating Officer of Greater Manchester Police's Major Investigation Team said:

"Ramsden is a pathetic individual who believed he had been slighted by Paul in front of a crowd of people.

"As revenge for this, Ramsden killed him.

"This was a needless and extremely violent attack that resulted in the death of a father-of-three.

"Ramsden's behaviour has resulted in the loss of well-loved father, son, brother and friend. He now has a long time to reflect on what he has done."

Police Force: Greater Manchester

Address:
The Pepper Alley
Crown Street
Bolton
LANCASHIRE
BL1