Two gangsters who hacked a father to death with zombie knives and machetes ... trends now
Gang members who hacked a father to death with machetes and zombie knives in broad daylight outside a KFC were jailed for life today.
Kelvin Ward was ambushed and chased by the masked thugs as he tried to defend his teenage son, their intended target.
He died from a single stab wound, it was revealed this afternoon, but the violence leading up to his death was shocking and brutal.
Security camera footage caught the gang following Mr Ward, 50 and his son – who cannot be named for legal reasons – to a KFC drive-thru near Birmingham last April.
The pair were about to leave the fast-food chain when the gang smashed a stolen Ford Kuga into their Vauxhall Corsa in the car park.
Kelvin Ward, 50, died after the savage attack in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham - of which the original target had been his son
Kelvin Ward (left) being swung at by an attacker with a machete on April 18 2023 - moments later, he suffered a fatal wound to the heart
Christine Ward holds a photograph of her son Kelvin (left) at her home in Birmingham
Mr Ward's son managed to drive off and then fled on foot. His father, meanwhile, jumped into the gang's Kuga and drove in the direction his son had run off in.
He aimed the vehicle at one of the gang – but missed and crashed into the railings on the side of the road.
Two of the gang were then caught on CCTV attacking Mr Ward in the middle of the road with knives.
Emergency services rushed to the scene but nothing could be done to save him despite the efforts of medics.
Today two of his killers were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
Leighton Williams, 28, will serve a minimum of 29-years while Tyrone Hollywood, who was aged just 17 at the time of the killing, will spend at least 19-years behind bars.
Another gang member Aaron Coates, 18, was jailed for 21-years for manslaughter while a fourth man -18-year-old Rusharn Williams-Reid - was sentenced to 13-years and six months after being found guilty alongside the three other defendants of conspiracy to murder Mr Ward's son.
The teenager had initially been friends with some of the attackers before falling out with them, Coventry Crown Court was told.
Passing sentence, Justice Cheema-Grubb concluded that Mr Ward was 'unarmed and alone and presented no threat' to Williams and Hollywood.She says: 'It took a single stab wound to kill Kelvin Ward. No-one should die by a knife in this way if knives were not carried about unlawfully on the streets
