Three men were convicted over the October 2022 murder of 53-year-old grandmother Jackie Rutter after more than 15 hours of jury deliberations at the Liverpool Crown Court
One of three men found guilty of the murder of a grandmother shot on her own doorstep has been named as a convicted child sex offender, it has been revealed.
The Liverpool Echo reports that Simon Allen is one of three men who on Wednesday, January 28 was convicted of the murder of Jackie Rutter, who was shot at her home on Meadowbrook Road in Moreton, Wirral, in October 2022.
James Byrne, Barrie Glynn and David Harrison have also been on trial for murder at Liverpool Crown Court. Prosecution case alleged that the shooting was motivated by an apparent “robbery” or “taxing”, in which Ms Rutter’s sons Peter and Steven reportedly stole a mobile phone.
It was alleged that Byrne and another man, Preston Connolly, had been using this phone to conduct their drug dealing business as part of the “JJ Line”.
The jury returned their verdict on Wednesday after 15 hours and 15 minutes of deliberations.
Byrne, Allen and Harrison were unanimously convicted of murder. Glynn was found guilty of manslaughter by a majority of 10 to two. All four were also unanimously found guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life and arson.
The High Court judge who has been presiding over the trial will pass sentence on Thursday.
Ms Rutter, 53, was was a grandmother.
In the prosecution’s opening in October, Nigel Power KC said the incident was not a case of mistaken identity, but was rather a “targeted revenge attack in the heat of a dispute over drugs.”
Allen was said to have other offences on his record relating to the possession of firearms, dating back to 2003 and 2020. During his evidence, he told the court that he “just found guns extremely nice to look at”.
The Liverpool ECHO reported that Allen was jailed in November 2023 for offences relating to indecent images of children – as reported by the Wirral Globe.
He was handed a total of three-and-a-half years behind bars after downloading 250 indecent pictures and videos before sending some onwards to four others.
It came after Allen was jailed for similar offences in 2015, being ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years as a result.
He breached these conditions by travelling to the Netherlands with Byrne and Connolly without informing the police in advance.
Allen, 55, of no fixed address, was meanwhile said to have previous convictions in the Netherlands relating to extreme pornographic images and drug offences.
