A SENIOR detective has praised witnesses who came forward with information about the murder of Darren McCubbing.
Detective Chief Inspector Jed Manley spoke out after 17-year-old Michael Lindsay was jailed for more than 12 years for murder at Chester Crown Court.
Lindsay, of Doune Court, had pleaded guilty to murdering Darren on waste ground on the Stan-ney estate.
DCI Manley, crime manager for Ellesmere Port, said: 'This was an attack, violent in the extreme, which both claimed a young man's life and shocked the community.
'There is reassurance for the public that such attacks are rare in Cheshire and subsequent police enquiries resulted in the offender being brought to justice.
'I thank those members of the public who supported us in our enquiries and the police team whose professionalism helped to secure this outcome.'
The court heard how Darren, 19, was fatally attacked by Lindsay near Sherbourne Road on April 22 last year. His body was found at 9am the following day.
Prosecuting, Michael Chambers said: 'Darren's body was naked and there was burnt foliage around it, indicating there had been an attempt to burn the body.
'The indications are that the assault had taken place using weapons - a hammer, edging stones and a rock - and Lindsay had kicked him so he was virtually unrecognisable.'
Police later found the hammer, stones, rock and Darren's clothes, which had been removed by Lindsay, in a search of the murder scene.
Defending, Patrick Harrington QC said: 'What Lindsay did was appalling. It was terrible, mindless violence which has had disastrous consequences.'
He explained Lindsay's recollection of the murder was limited because he'd taken cannabis and ecstasy and had been drinking.
Mr Harrington suggested there had been an argument between the two. He said Lindsay had been disruptive at school before being excluded and turned to drink and drugs.
Mr Justice Curtis told Lindsay: 'You have committed a truly dreadful crime and nothing can be done to reverse it.'
At the hearing, 19-year-old Rune Christopher Gates, formerly of Ellesmere Port but now of Blackpool, admitted an affray committed on Darren McCubbing in a separate incident on January 1, 2004.
