Mystery still surrounds a horrifying cold case which saw a muffled phone 999 call made from the boot of a car before a brutal murder. David Barnshaw begged police to help him in a panicked attempt to call for help whilst in the boot of his own Ford Orion.
During a frantic three minute phone call. Mr Barnshaw repeated the word “please” 53 times. He was bound with tape and handcuffed after being bundled into the boot and driven to an industrial estate in Lower Bredbury, close to Stockport town centre.
The Manchester Evening News has looked back on the shocking case which has remained unsolved for 25 years, with his family still waiting for justice. Mr Barnshaw was forced to drink petrol before being set on fire in a case that highlighted Stockport’s underbelly – and shocking police corruption.
The small-time drug dealer, met his death on the night of September 20, 1999. He had first been beaten and snatched from the toilets inside the Moss Rose pub on Didsbury Road, Stockport. He was then forced into the boot, of his Orion, a black saloon.
During the chilling 999 call. Screams could be heard of one his friends being tortured on the industrial estate close to the M60 motorway. Fighting for his life after saying he had been ‘battered to a pulp’, the man in the boot whispers to the police call handler: “They are killing us, they are battering us, please come, please help.”
When fire crews raced out to the scene at 11pm, they believed they were just attending a routine job of a burned out car. They then made a grim discovery of Mr Cormack’s body.
His friend – who became a key witness – was lifted out of the boot and, it seems, spared. He ran away, despite head and stomach injuries, and was treated in hospital.
Detectives went on to describe his death as ‘nothing short of an execution’ and ‘cold-blooded murder’, but no one has ever been convicted of the killing. The subsequent police investigation found that he had amassed a £15,000 drugs debt and was on the cusp of a lucrative deal to sell 100,000 ecstasy tablets.
But that was an investigation that would go on to be severely criticised and discredited in large part. What isn’t in doubt is that Mr Barnshaw had clearly upset someone.
The day before his murder, he had been out to buy balloons for his young daughter’s birthday and had enjoyed a family meal at a restaurant. It also emerged he was a friend of a murdered Stockport gang boss, who was shot dead as he was driving through Marple in 1994.
The following month, arsonists torched the Stockport garage where the scorched remains of the Orion were being kept, detectives convinced it was a failed attempt to destroy evidence. Six men were eventually charged in connection with the murder and, opening the case for the prosecution in 2002, barrister Anthony Gee told the third jury to hear the case at Preston Crown Court – the other two had been discharged for legal reasons – to steel themselves for what would be harrowing evidence.
But the £10m trial was dogged by legal arguments. And the third jury would end up being discharged after shocking evidence of police corruption emerged. The first chink in the case came when the prosecution’s star witness – the man in the boot – admitted he had been a registered police informant. Neither the prosecution nor the judge or defence were aware of this.
Senior detectives were summoned to court to explain the omission. By 2003 the entire case had collapsed, after sensational evidence emerged that important information about another suspect had been kept from the court. The suspects were cleared of all charges, and the trial judge, Mr Justice Penry-Davey, said there had been ‘deliberate misconduct’ and ‘grossly negligent’ conduct of ‘senior members of the investigation team’.
Meanwhile, the man in the boot was supposed to be the prosecution’s star witness but would later tell the court: “I was told what to say by the police.” It also emerged two other witnesses had to go into hiding after the confidential information they had handed detectives ended up in the hands of criminals.
A case against GMP was brought by five of the six cleared defendants, with the force forced to pay a substantial legal bill. A renewed appeal was launched by police five years ago.
Speaking at the time, Martin Bottomley, Head of GMP’s Cold Case Unit, said: “No undetected or unresolved murder case is ever closed. Experienced detectives within our Cold Case Team regularly review historic investigations with a view to pursuing opportunities through advances in forensic science or new witness information.
“As with any investigation of this nature, we would continue to appeal to the public for their assistance.”
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