'Brutal and tragic' - Two men jailed for life after machete murder in Yorkshire
Two men have been handed life sentences following the “brutal and tragic” murder of a man in Yorkshire.
Jobie Tyers and Michael Mulvana were both found guilty of the murder of Indrit Mustafaj, a 26-year-old Albanian man who lived in Bradford.
Mustafaj was attacked inside a bedsit in the Haxby Road area of York on November 23, 2004, and was stabbed with a machete which the pair found at the property.
He was taken to hospital with severe wounds and died from a severed artery, while another man and woman who were also attacked at the same time were treated for injuries and have since recovered.
Tyers, 28, and Mulvana, 32, were both identified as suspects, arrested within a day of the attack and charged with murder, robbery and assault within three days.
North Yorkshire Police said the pair wore face coverings and had armed themselves with weapons including a crow bar to “tax” the occupants of drugs they believed were at the property.
However, during the attack they found a large machete at the address which was used to stab Mr Mustafaj a number of times.
Tyers pleaded guilty to robbery but denied the other offences, while Mulvana denied all charges. They were both found guilty following a trial which ended on February 3.
They were both given life sentences, with a minmum term of 27 years and 295 days at Leeds Crown Court on Friday (Feb 6).
Speaking after the hearing, Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Naughton said: “Mr Mustafaj’s death was both brutal and tragic.
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“While his attackers brought weapons to carry out this premeditated attack, our investigation revealed that the fatal injuries were inflicted with a machete they found when they got to the bedsit.
“It was probably there with the intention of using it in self-defence, in the event of an attack like this. But by owning a knife you’re potentially arming your attacker.
“As detectives, sadly we see people lose their lives in this way and we also see the impact on their families’ lives when they’re gone. Both of these consequences are horrendous and show how dangerous possessing or carrying a knife can be.
“Mulvana and Tyers are violent individuals who will now have an extremely long time in custody to reflect on what they’ve done.”