I must forgive Anthony's killers, says mother

The mother of murdered black teenager Anthony Walker said today she must forgive his killers.

Gee Walker, 49, was speaking after 17-year-old Michael Barton – the brother of Manchester City footballer Joey Barton – was found guilty of murder.

Barton’s cousin, 20-year-old Paul Taylor, had already pleaded guilty to murder at Preston Crown Court, sitting in Liverpool.

The pair ambushed Anthony in a park in Huyton, Merseyside, in July.

Taylor swung an ice axe at him with such force that its adze end smashed through his skull and was embedded in his brain.

Barton was found guilty of murder on the grounds that he started the confrontation with Anthony – who had walked away without retaliating – and supplied the murder weapon.

Both Barton and Taylor will be sentenced either this afternoon or tomorrow.

Trial judge Mr Justice Leveson must first assess Taylor’s role in the incident, and whether he was motivated by race hate.

All murderers receive life sentences, but racially-motivated murderers receive twice the minimum tariff.

Like her murdered son, Gee Walker is a devout Christian.

She said outside court: “At the point of death, Jesus said ’I forgive them for they know not what they do’.

“I have got to forgive them. My family and I still stand by what I believe - forgiveness.

“It will be difficult but we have got no choice but to live on for Anthony.”

She added: “It’s been really hard-going. I think justice has been done. I am pleased with the outcome.”

Anthony’s cousin, Daniel Okoro, said on behalf of the family: “Anthony was a wonderful young man who had everything to live for and his murder has put my family through a living nightmare.

“Anthony was a devout Christian and the world is a worse place without him today. Our lives will never be the same again.

“Anthony posed no threat to these people. They chose to kill him purely because of the colour of his skin.

“We are satisfied with the verdict but we are not celebrating. We have no reason to be jubilant, because that will not bring Anthony back.

“We want to make it clear that this case is not closed. There are still other people involved in Anthony’s murder and we hope they will be brought to justice soon.

“We would like to thank the police and the Crown Prosecution for a very thorough and professional investigation and prosecution.

“Finally, we would like to express our thanks and appreciation to the thousands of people across Liverpool, the UK and the world whose support and sympathy has been of great comfort to us.”

Both families showed restraint when the guilty verdict was read out in court, following seven-and-a-half hours of jury deliberations.

Barton, dressed in a green shirt and dark tie, bowed his head and looked bewildered.

There were muffled cries from some of his relatives, and his father shook his head in sorrow.

The Walker family and their supporters remained absolutely silent.

Anthony’s mother sat quietly and looked at Barton in the dock.

As she left court, she clasped her hands together as if in prayer and cast her eyes to the sky while other relatives hugged each other.

Mrs Walker and many supporters attended the entire eight-day trial.

During the evidence, they heard that Anthony Walker was killed purely because of the colour of his skin.

He had been waiting at a bus stop with his cousin, Marcus Binns, and white girlfriend Louise Thompson when Barton began hurling racist abuse as he stood outside the Huyton Park pub.

Anthony did not react aggressively but simply said they were waiting for a bus and would soon be gone, to which Barton replied: “Walk, nigger, walk.”

The three friends walked away with the intention of waiting at a different bus stop.

They took a short cut across McGoldrick Park, but Barton and Taylor were lying in wait, armed with a two-and-a-half-foot long ice axe.

Marcus and Louise managed to escape but Anthony, who might have been protecting his friends, was struck on the head with the axe.

He died five hours later in hospital.

Within two hours, Barton and Taylor had managed to locate funds and a different car to take them to Dover, from where they sailed to France, then drove to Amsterdam.

They returned five days later voluntarily.

Taylor admitted he swung the blow and Barton initially told police a story in which he claimed Anthony’s cousin Marcus started a confrontation outside the pub.

He also claimed he picked up the ice axe, which happened to be lying outside the pub, and took it to the park “to scare them“.

In court, he changed his story and said he had not been involved in any confrontation outside the pub and had never seen the ice axe before he saw it embedded in Anthony’s head.

Under cross examination, these lies were his undoing.

He gave police a detailed description of the axe, including its weight, despite the fact that he claimed to have seen it for just seconds.

He also gave police accurate details of exactly where Anthony, Marcus and Louise were standing during the confrontation, despite the fact that he claimed to have been in the pub all night.

He repeatedly claimed that the story he told the police was a pack of lies made up by Taylor while they were in Amsterdam in order to get a manslaughter charge instead of murder.

The jury chose to believe the prosecution evidence that Barton not only started the confrontation by hurling racist abuse but provided the axe used in the murder.

The murder was “one of the worst cases” seen by the reviewing lawyer in the case, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Colin Davies, head of the serious and complex crime division of Merseyside CPS, said: “Anthony’s murder is one of the most vicious attacks I have seen in years of prosecuting.

“Throughout my involvement, I have been struck by the strength and courage of Anthony’s family. The support we have received from Anthony’s family, his church and the whole community has been excellent.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Currie, who led the investigation, said: “I said right from the outset it was a racially-motivated attack. I still firmly believe that – all the way through our inquiries there is nothing that has shaken me from that belief.

“The jury found Barton guilty of murder. We say he is just as guilty as the man who struck the fatal blow, it was a combined attack.

“Anthony was a young man with his girlfriend and cousin minding their own business, doing absolutely nothing wrong, subjected to a torrent of racist abuse, so they went to another bus stop.

“Everything they did was right but it ultimately turned out wrong. It is beyond belief.”