Joseph Jones, 24, from Crescent Road, New Barnet, and Norman Jones, 50, from Dukes Head Yard, Highgate, abducted landscaper and scrap metal dealer John Finney last year because they believed he had stolen their drugs. They drove the 42-year-old father-of-four 30 miles to a business unit in Hertfordshire and tortured him before killing him and mutilating his body. Two weeks later a member of the public discovered Mr Finney's naked remains behind a garage block in Ickleford.
His hands and head have never been found. The father and son were sentenced today at St Albans Crown Court, in Bricket Road, after a jury on Monday found them guilty of murder. Joseph Jones's friend Mark Curran, 28, of Dollis Valley Way, Barnet, and Gary Lattimore, 40, formerly of Littleheath Road, Bexleyheath, were both cleared of murder. Jailing Norman Jones for a minimum of 33 years and his son for a minimum of 30 years, Judge Mr Justice MacDuff said: "You are both evil men with nothing to commend you. “You committed a meticulously planned murder. You decided summarily to execute a man who you thought, rightly or wrong, probably wrongly, had crossed you.
"It is difficult to comprehend how evil you are. You lack any semblance of humanity." Justice MacDuff said he was "close to tears" after reading a family impact statement from the murdered man's father. He added: “You have subjected the Finney family to unimaginable grief, the loss of a proper man and man of real worth." Speaking after the verdict, Mr Finney’s family said: “The past year has been so very hard for us as a family. We have had to try to understand why a loving son and father was taken from us in such a brutal way and come to terms with this immense loss in our lives. “We have been helped by the support shown by many kind-hearted people around us and we would like to thank them. “But nothing can replace John and he will continue to remain so very much in our thoughts and prayers.”
The sentence means Norman Jones, who was worth £7 million will not be eligible to apply for parole until he is 83. He claimed he had made his fortune from horse racing and property development in Spain, but police suspect he made his fortune through crime. Mr Finney was living with his girlfriend in a caravan at Park Farm, Northaw Road West, Northaw, Hertfordshire, when he was abducted in February last year. He had used his truck a few weeks earlier to help tow another vehicle out of a mud-filled ditch at the farm, which had links to the killers. When a consignment of drugs went missing from it, Mr Finney was suspected of being responsible, but police say he was innocent. The killers then set about a plan to exact revenge, using "dirty" mobile phones to make death threats and purchase the van used to abduct Mr Finney, which were later discarded. Mr Finney was dragged from his car at gunpoint at around 7pm on February 29, 2008. He was taken to a specially rented shack in Knowl Piece, Wilbury Way, Hitchin, and murdered. Mr William Harbage QC, prosecuting, asked the jury to conclude that Mr Finney had been shot in the head and wounds on his body indicated he had been tortured. Mr Harbage said: “Mr Finney seriously upset some thoroughly unscrupulous and ruthless people. This was a callous, cold-blooded, pre-meditated execution of a man against whom they bore a grudge." The Joneses fled to Spain after the killing and were arrested in Marbella on May 1, 2008. Detective Chief Inspector Bill Jephson, who led the investigation, said: "John was the victim of a calculated and pre-planned, savage attack. We will never fully understand the motive for such brutality and only those individuals responsible for John's death will know exactly what happened to him. “John was a well-known and respected member of the travelling community, and his death has had a profound impact. I am extremely grateful for their support and cooperation over the last year and for respecting the investigation.” Patrick Fields of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "This was a painstaking enquiry into a particularly brutal and grisly execution of a man who had done nothing wrong." Police believe a fifth person also took part in the murder, who they are still trying to identify.grandson and former son-in-law of gangster Charlie Kray were jailed for a minimum of 63 years Charlie Kray was the elder brother of gangster twins Ronnie and Reggie. He was seen as the quieter one of the trio who brought terror to London in the Sixties. He died aged 73 while serving a 12-year sentence for his part in a drugs plot.
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