Three guilty of murdering man shot through window

Sean Reay, Kelvin Lawson and Thomas Sterling have been convicted of the murder of Barry Dawson

Three men have been found guilty of murdering a man who was killed by a gunshot fired through his living room window.

Barry Dawson was fatally hit in the chest in his home in Stanley, County Durham, in April, Teesside Crown Court has heard.

Sean Reay, 30, fired the gun, while two men who went with him to the scene were also convicted of murder under joint enterprise principles. Another two were cleared.

The trio were remanded into custody and will be sentenced at a later date, with a judge warning them they would all receive mandatory life terms.

Mr Dawson was shot as he stood in the living room of his home on Elm Street in South Moor at about 17:15 BST on 5 April, jurors heard.

Barry Dawson was murdered at his home in Stanley, County Durham, in April

The killers, all of whom are from Annfield Plain, are:

• Sean Reay, 30, of Clavering Place

• Thomas Lee Sterling, 22, of The Avenue

• Kelvin Lawson, 37, of Frosterley Gardens

Keith Dorward, 48, of no fixed address, and Kevin Dorward, 38, of New Durham Road, who also went with the killers, were found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

Mr Reay claimed he and his accomplices had gone to South Moor just to "scare" a man who had threatened him earlier in the day.

It was believed their target was at Mr Dawson's house, although Mr Dawson was not involved in the earlier incident, the court had heard.

Kelvin Lawson threw a brick through the window before Reay stepped forward and fired, with the whole incident caught by a neighbour's CCTV camera.

They then fled the scene in Kevin Dorward's Seat Arona, which was falsely reported stolen and set on fire in the aftermath.

Kevin Dorward, his cousin Keith Dorward and partner Michaela Hetherington, 35, all admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the lies about and disposal of the car.

Reay fled first to Scotland and then to Ireland in the aftermath, before being arrested several days later.

Jurors reached their verdicts after almost two days of deliberation.

The Seat Arona used by the men to get to and from Elm Street was set alight and abandoned after the shooting