A mum who gave birth to twins after their father was murdered has condemned a 'wall of silence' shielding his killers.Paul Croft, 19, was ambushed by a mob of 15 youths armed with baseball bats and golf clubs following a petty feud over 'respect' in 2005.He died in hospital a week after he was found badly beaten in an alleyway.Fiancée Kirsty McIntosh, 17, and pregnant with Paul's children, made repeated public appeals for locals to turn the masked gang in as police offered a £5,000 reward.But although gang ringleader James Wilde, then just 16, was named by locals as the prime suspect, detectives were powerless to charge him as witnesses were too terrified to come forward.Wilde, now 29, and accomplice Paul O'Neill, 36, were eventually charged last year after a neighbour bravely agreed to speak to police when she moved away from the Pendlebury area of Salford, Greater Manchester where the killing took place.
The woman - who lived next door to O'Neill - said she overheard the killers boasting about the murder during a lager spree but was too frightened to report it at the time as threats had been made to burn down her house.She said she overheard a row between Wilde and O'Neill after one of their friends.During the argument O’Neill told Wilde "you hit him the first, you gave him the first blow to his head" whilst Wilde replied "at least I didn’t hit him in the face - you hit him in the face".
O’Neil then went on: "At least I didn’t kick him" and Wilde hit back: "At least he didn’t get up and give us a hit back".It emerged Paul, who was involved in the Prince's Trust scheme with the Fire Brigade, had been killed following a feud about 'respect' after he sat on someone's else moped.This week at Manchester Crown Court, Paul's family watched as Wilde, of Swinton, gave a defiant two fingered salute and smiled as he was ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years jail after being convicted of murder.
O'Neill, of Pendlebury was convicted of manslaughter and was jailed for 12 years.In a statement Kirsty, now 29, said: ''Over the past 12 years I’ve never really had the chance to deal with my emotions - and this has been made harder because no-one has faced justice until now."I have had to live life without Paul bringing up his children and I felt I couldn’t trust anyone and suffered with anxiety, it was like I couldn’t deal with my emotions as I had the twins to look after.
''I was suffering emotional heartbreak and was very protective of the twins and was worried I would lose them like I lost Paul.'Since I was told charges had been made I have suffered from nightmares and flashback to Paul on life support."I feel that if I had met Paul that day then he wouldn’t have died. The twins never got a chance to meet him and they will turn 12 years old in 2017.''They are the only thing I have left of Paul."I feel like I have been given a life sentence and am truly heartbroken my beautiful, incredible boys will never meet their dad.''Paul's mother Susan, 56, said: ''Although justice may have been served, it will not bring Paul back or make our loss any easier.