Merseyside gang member who covered up murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in 2007 is found dead

•  Dean Kelly helped cover up the murder of schoolboy Rhys Jones in 2007
• The former gang member was found dead in Scotland in a drug-related death

The Merseyside gang member who covered up the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in 2007 has been found dead.

Former Croxteth Crew member Dean Stephen Kelly helped murderer Sean Mercer cover up the horrific murder of the schoolboy by providing an alibi.

Kelly – who was jailed at 17 in 2009 in connection with the crime – told police he and Mercer were watching a DVD together at the time of the murder.

In reality, Mercer, who was 16 at the time, shot Everton fan Rhys as he walked home from football practice in Croxteth, Liverpool.

Kelly was one of eleven people, including Mercer’s own mother Janette Mercer, who were jailed for Rhys’ murder and the cover-up that followed.

The 31-year-old was found dead at in Springside, Irvine, Scotland on April 6 this year, with an inquest ruling it was drug-related.

Former Croxteth Crew member Dean Stephen Kelly (pictured) helped murderer Sean Mercer cover up the horrific murder of the schoolboy by providing an alibi. Picture date: 2008

Everton fan Rhys was shot as he walked home from football practice in Croxteth, Liverpool

Melanie and Stephen Jones, parents of Rhys Jones, outside Liverpool Crown Court in 2008

He was sentenced to four years in prison in 2009 for assisting an offender and hiding the gun in his loft after the shooting. But he was back in custody less than a year later for breaching the terms of his parole.

An inquest into his death was held at Gerard Majella Courthouse on Friday, November 10, before senior coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, Andre Rebello.

The inquest concluded the 31-year-old died of a drug related death after being found with a range of different drugs including cocaine in his system. 

The medical cause of death was recorded as intoxication and coronary artery atheroma, otherwise known as coronary heart disease.

Judge Irwin told Kelly at the time of sentencing: ‘Clearly under instruction from Mercer you moved the murder weapon from the dog kennel and hid it in the loft. No doubt you knew all along what had gone on and leant your help with that knowledge.

READ MORE – Gang member who shot dead Rhys Jones, 11, still maintains it was an accident as he brags of cooking and gym in ‘cushy’ prison 

‘By Sunday 26th (August), the killing was all over the estate and the country. In the middle of that outcry you moved the weapon. You are at significant risk of re-offending and causing harm to the public.’

Mercer wrote about gunning down the 11-year-old in a letter to a pen pal after denying it at his trial.

He told Rhian Rose: ‘I have to live with what happened every day and it’s horrible, as I’ve said it kills me inside, I didn’t know the little lad had been hit until hours later. I didn’t see him, I found out on the night time. It’s a s**t situation.’ 

In a series of letters written over the past few months, he boasted of his comfortable life behind bars to former model, Rhian.

He has bagged an enviable job in the gym, meaning can work out every day. He also plays football and is now a strapping six foot tall athlete.

The former gang member now enjoys cooking and studying and has given up watching TV to focus on an Open University degree course.

Mercer is held at Category A HMP Frankland prison in County Durham, dubbed ‘Monster Mansion’ as it houses Britain’s most notorious killers including Ian Huntley and Levi Bellfield.

Kelly wasn’t the only one to help cover up Mercer’s crime. His mother, Janette Mercer, tried to cover up a crucial piece of evidence by lying to police in a statement when they asked her about bicycles her son owned or had access to.

He was riding a silver mountain bike when he fired the fatal shot, but Jeanette Mercer claimed he did not own such a bike – instead saying he had only a black, orange and white one.

Kelly – who was jailed at 17 in 2009 in connection with the crime – told police he and Mercer were watching a DVD together at the time of the murder. Pictured: Sean Mercer, 18, in 2008

Janette Mercer tried to cover up a crucial piece of evidence by lying to police in a statement when they asked her about bicycles her son owned or had access to. Picture date: 2009

But it was subsequently discovered that she had taken delivery of the bike four months earlier when it was sent to the family following an insurance claim.

When Kelly was sentenced to four years in prison for assisting an offender, two counts of possession of a firearm and one of possessing ammunition, he served just 15 months because of the time he had already spent on remand. 

But he was back in custody less than a year later for breaching the terms of his parole and was sentenced to 30 days detention. But he failed to show at the hearing at Liverpool’s former Dale Street magistrates’ court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Kelly was listed on police computers as officially ‘wanted’ when he was caught speeding away from police in a stolen van. 

READ MORE – Mother who was jailed for lying to police when her son shot dead Rhys Jones, 11, admits helping ANOTHER criminal son evade justice 

He tried to flee following a dangerous five-minute chase through Kirkby and Fazakerley during which he smashed into a couple’s car just seconds after their young daughter climbed into the back seat on her way home from school.

A smirking Kelly was jailed for 10 months after he admitted aggravated vehicle taking in 2013. In 2017 he was cleared alongside fellow Croxteth Crew member James Yates of any involvement in an alleged drug ring. Prosecutors dropped charges after no witnesses came forward to identify them.

Kelly was back in trouble with the police in 2019 when he was banned from part of Scotland. Detectives accused him of having links to ‘acts of violence and intimidation, including the use of weapons’ and accused him of ‘county lines drug dealing.’

He was given an interim Anti-Social Behaviour Order at the time which prohibited him from entering the local authority area of East Lothian, except for the purposes of court appearances and meeting legal advisors. But he was later handed a 12 month prison sentence for breaching the ASBO.

In November 2019, Kelly was convicted of dangerous driving in Inveresk, East Lothian, Scotland after he lost control of a stolen Volkswagen Polo in the village and crashed into a garden wall, causing thousands of pounds’ of damage.

He was serving a 10 year driving ban at the time of the crash. Kelly was handed a eight month prison sentence to run concurrently with his sentence for breaching the ASBO.

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