Pair given life for brutal street murder with ‘fearsome’ knife

Josh Hirst was attacked and stabbed after he parked near his home in Grove Street, Mirfield, on August 3 last year.

Sentencing Joe Church, 21, to a minimum of 25 years in jail, and Aaron Smith, 19 to custody for life with a minimum of 22 years, minus 198 days spent on remand, at Leeds Crown Court yesterday the Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC said the effect on his family had been devastating.

He said when Josh’s father Terry gave evidence of finding his dying son “we had a very brief glimpse of how the events of that night have stayed with the family.”

“In their statements Mrs Hirst speaks simply of her broken heart, Mr Hirst of how he has lost his son and his family of how every aspect of their lives has been destroyed.

“What touched me most was that in describing the complete devastation that the loss of Josh has brought to their lives they are totally silent about those who perpetrated his death and their loss,” he said.

He said he was satisfied that Church had bought “a fearsomely lethal lock knife” on the morning of August 3 in order to attack Josh Hirst.

That day Church had seen some of his friends sentenced for offences on the London Park estate at Mirfield.

They were part of a group who were said to have “run the estate” committing offences of robbery and affray as they pleased.

Church later told a witness he had stabbed Hirst believing him to have been part of an earlier attack on his home.

The judge said it was clear when they followed Mr Hirst’s car that night they planned an attack on the 20-year-old which was why Church was wearing leather gloves when he and Smith chased their victim down a ginnel and caught him.

The judge said Josh Hirst was unarmed when Church with “that dreadful weapon in your hand, cut his throat and then stabbed him through his carotid artery.”

Smith, was on licence at the time having only been released from a robbery sentence a couple of weeks earlier.

Church of Redlands Close, Mirfield and Smith of Saville Street, Emley, were each convicted by a jury last week by a 10-2 majority of murdering Mr Hirst.

The judge told them the sentences were the very minimum they would serve before they could be considered for release.

Kirstie Rainford, 22, of Springbank Drive, Liversedge who was Church’s girlfriend, was jailed for 21 months after she admitted three charges of assisting an offender.

Neil Davey, QC, prosecuting, said she took Church a change of clothing after the attack, drove him to a friend’s house and later took his car to him.

Judge Collier told Church it was an aggravating feature he had involved “an otherwise decent young woman in this and ruined her life”.