Rhys Jones killer's accomplice died from drugs in system - inquest

Dean Stephen Kelly was jailed for trying to cover up for the killer of Rhys Jones

A member of the gang jailed over the murder of schoolboy Rhys Jones died with a cocktail of drugs in his system, an inquest has found.

Dean Kelly, 31, was found dead in North Ayrshire, Scotland, on 6 April, the Liverpool coroner's office said.

Kelly, of Majestic Close, Liverpool, was jailed for four years for supplying a fake alibi for Sean Mercer who shot Rhys, aged 11, on 22 August 2007.

Rhys was hit as he walked home from football training in Liverpool.

An inquest held on Friday, coroner Andre Rebello said Kelly died at an address in Station Road, Springside, Irvine.

The murder of Rhys Jones sparked a national outcry in 2007

Mr Rebello said a post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death was drugs-related.

The medical cause was intoxication from a combination of drugs, namely cocaine, pregabalin, clonazepam, bromazolam and dihydrocodeine.

Rhys was mistakenly shot dead by Mercer in the car park of the Fir Tree pub in the Croxteth area of the city.

After the killing, he fled the scene by bike to a house where a cover-up plan was hatched involving burning his clothes and petrol poured over his body to remove gun residue.

Kelly then provided Mercer with a fake alibi and was subsequently jailed for assisting an offender.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]