Woman and teenager jailed for murdering pensioner

Antoinette Sheppard and Kieron Spicer have been jailed for murder

A woman and teenage boy who lured an elderly man to his death have been jailed for murder.

Antoinette Sheppard, 44, and Kieron Spicer, 17, killed 74-year-old Michael Brady at Sheppard’s home on Bowness Close, Coventry, in June 2023.

A jury found the pair guilty of murder in December and they were sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on Friday.

Sheppard was jailed for a minimum of 30 years while Spicer was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison.

Spicer’s name was allowed to be published after a court order was lifted following an application by prosecutors.

The court heard how Sheppard befriended Mr Brady before she invited him to her home, West Midlands Police said.

CCTV footage showed him entering her home shortly after 18:00 BST on 18 June.

Sheppard and Spicer then inflicted a “horrific series of injuries” on Mr Brady, eventually killing him, detectives said.

Michael Brady was described as a gentle and kind man

His body was put into a large TV box which was then hidden in a shed.

The killers also took Mr Brady’s bank card which they used at a shop to withdraw £300 and buy alcohol.

Following concerns from neighbours, police said they were called out and found Mr Brady’s body in the shed.

Sheppard was arrested and Spicer was detained later after he told a social worker that he had been asked to hide a body.

Both killers tried to blame each other while being interviewed by officers before they were charged with Mr Brady’s murder, the force said.

The court was told Sheppard had groomed Spicer to commit offences and the jury were shown messages in which the pair discussed hurting someone.

One message from Spicer said: "I am on one. I am going to hurt people."

One of Mr Brady's family said in a statement, issued through police, that they did not understand the violence shown towards him, describing him as a vulnerable, ailing, gentle man who trusted people.

"Telling my family, friends, and work colleagues that my dad had been murdered was surreal and devastating,” they said.

They went on to say Mr Brady was a kind, generous and hard-working man who loved to laugh.

Det Insp Jim Colclough said: "This was a tragic case of a vulnerable man being killed by people he thought he could trust.”