Four people have today been found guilty of killing  44-year-old John Hutchinson (pictured below) in Blackpool in a brutal revenge attack. Police were called around 6.50 p.m. on Monday 10th April to a report of an aggravated burglary at an address in Scorton Avenue, Blackpool where a group of men, carrying a hammer, metal bar and a wooden pole, had entered a flat and assaulted a man before making off from the scene.

Police attended the incident and spoke with the victim, John Hutchinson. But at around 9.10 p.m. on the same day Police were called once again to the same address, this time by the ambulance service, where Mr Hutchinson had suffered a suspected cardiac arrest. He was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for treatment but sadly later died.

Following a Home Office post-mortem examination, it was established he had died from a ruptured spleen which had caused fatal internal bleeding. The bleeding had been caused by a hammer blow which had struck with considerable force and had fractured a rib and perforated the spleen.

The assault on Mr Hutchinson was a revenge attack after he and another man stole a large quantity of drugs earlier the same day from the home address of a man called John Cunningham.

After an investigation by the Force Major Investigation Team four men were arrested and charged.

And after a trial at Preston Crown Court, they were unanimously convicted by a jury.

They are:

• Daniel Cunningham, 34, Tarnbrook Drive, Blackpool guilty of manslaughter
• Lee Clarke, 33, Greenall Court, Prescot, Merseyside guilty of murder
• David Bond, 33, Oaklands Avenue, Liverpool guilty of murder
• Darren McCabe, 47, Warwick Road, Blackpool guilty of manslaughter

The four will all be sentenced later.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows, of the Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) said: ‘The drug dealing world is a brutal one and being part of that world has ultimately cost John Hutchinson his life in what was a classic case of retribution. I would like to thank the prosecution team for their presentation of the case and the jury for their careful consideration of the facts.

My thoughts remain with Mr Hutchinson’s loved ones and I hope that these guilty verdicts provide some sense that justice has been done.’