A Detective called to the scene of Thomas Campbell’s murder described what he saw as being ‘like something from a horror film’, as three convicted killers faced justice. Mr Campbell, 38, was subjected to two hours of ‘unimaginable’ pain as he was tortured to death in his own home.
Blood covered the walls of his smart new build home in Mossley, Tameside, which was turned into a house of horrors. Suffering 61 separate injuries, including being stabbed, punched, kicked and strangled, dad-of-two Mr Campbell then had boiling water poured on his buttocks.
He was discovered the following morning, naked apart from a pair of socks, lay in his hallway having died hours earlier. “I’ve been in the police for 20 years and I’ve never been to a scene like that ever before,” Detective Sergeant Paul Davies
Mr Belfield is alleged to have plotted to rob Mr Campbell of drugs or money. Ms Campbell is said to have provided information about her former husband’s movements to Mr Belfield.
She accepted passing on intelligence but maintained she had no desire for her ex to be harmed, and only provided it believing Mr Belfield was trying to discover whether his ex was seeing Mr Campbell. Mr Cleworth has admitted placing a tracking device on Mr Campbell’s car days before the killing, which happened on Saturday, July 2 last year.
He said Mr Belfield had told him that Mr Campbell had up to £200,000 worth of drugs or money buried in a field. Mr Cleworth has said he agreed to try and find the ‘buried treasure’ and steal it, but denied there was any intention to hurt Mr Campbell.
Today (Wednesday 2 February 2023), two men and a woman have been sentenced to a total of 62 years for the part they played in Thomas Campbell’s death.
Reece Steven (29) of Poplar Street, Middleton has been found guilty of murder with conspiracy to rob and has been sentenced to life in prison. Stephen Cleworth (38) Charles Street, Heywood has been found guilty of manslaughter with conspiracy to rob and has been sentenced to a minimum of 12 years. Finally, Coleen Campbell (38) of Bamford Street was found guilty of manslaughter with conspiracy to rob and was sentenced to 13 years with two thirds being custodial.
The sentencing today (Wednesday 22 February 2023) comes after a lengthy investigation which started in July 2022, which brought to light the movements of those involved. A team of detectives in GMP’s Major Incident Team have worked tirelessly to search for answers for his family.
During the investigation, GMP has collected, reviewed and analysed hundreds of hours of CCTV and nearly 3000 exhibits, spoken to over 200 witnesses and arrested 19 people in its quest to secure justice for Thomas’ family.
The conspiracy to murder Thomas Campbell was meticulously thought out and used those closest to Thomas to track his every move. Those involved in his murder formulated a plan for the attack that focussed on his daily routine, which was known well by Coleen Campbell. Colleen was recruited by the group to share the information that they needed to carry out the attack.
Coleen told the Jury that she believed the plan was only to rob Thomas of his property – namely of two Rolex watches, the whereabouts of which remain unknown to police at this time.
She provided the exact locations of the whereabouts of Thomas Campbell, through phone messages and calls to another member of the group.
Detectives found the location of a tracker placed on Thomas’ van. The tactics of how to attach a tracker to a vehicle were discussed in public by the three offenders in this case in the hours prior to the tracker being deployed. This meeting and the deployment of the tracker were both captured on CCTV.
On the night of the attack on 2 July 2022, Thomas was ambushed as he opened his front door by a group who had been lying in wait for him. He was overpowered and assaulted on his doorstep before he was dragged back inside his own home, tortured and murdered. An autopsy revealed he suffered over 61 injuries.
Detective Inspector Mark Davis of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “The thoughts of the investigation team remain with Thomas’s family as they continue to come to terms with their loss.
“This was a despicable and incredibly violent attack that was fuelled by the pure anger and aggression of those involved and which tragically cost Thomas his life.
“No length of sentence given today will bring Thomas back and his family are left to grieve his loss. Those sentenced now face a long time behind bars and I hope they will use this time to reflect upon the hurt they have inflicted on his family.
“Even though three people have now been jailed for their involvement in this case, our work does not stop here, and the investigation team will keep pushing for justice until all of those responsible are brought to justice.
“We continue to appeal to anyone with information about this case to come forwards and share it with the police.
I understand that coming forwards with information can be difficult but it is the right thing to do and it is important that we get justice for Thomas and answers for his family.
“Anyone with information should contact GMP via gmp.police.uk or by calling 101 quoting Operation Ravensburg.
