Christopher Guest More Jnr fails in torture murder conviction appeal

Christopher Guest More Jnr was found guilty after a trial of murdering dad-of-two Brian Waters during a brutal four-hour ordeal at Burnt House Farm in Tabley in 2003.

The then 43-year-old, from Lymm, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years at Chester Crown Court in December 2021.

It was confirmed in July by the Criminal Appeal Office at the Royal Courts of Justice in London that he had submitted an application for leave to appeal conviction.

The application to hear the appeal was granted, however Lord Justice Dingemans, Mrs Justice Cutts and His Honour Judge Lickley KC dismissed the appeal.

A ruling published this week states that the appeal was on grounds that summing-up during the trial was ‘unbalanced and unfair so that the conviction was unsafe’.

More’s legal representatives also stated that the ‘very late disclosure of helpful material meant that there was a legitimate concern about the disclosure process overall which needed to be explored’.

The More camp also said: “The very late disclosure of the agreed fact could not undo the prejudice of evidence called by the Crown on the issue of whether John Wilson was a police informant, nor could it repair suggestions made in cross examination of Mr More.”

The prosecution resisted the appeal, submitting that the summing up was fair and that the disclosure process was properly carried out and there is nothing further to be disclosed.

The ruling states: “We will grant leave to appeal against conviction because there are matters requiring the court to review carefully the disclosure process in this case, and to consider the effect of the disclosure process on the safety of the conviction.”

Brian Waters was murdered at the Tabley farm

However, it concludes: “We find that the summing up was fair; we do not direct the appointment of special counsel or make any further directions relating to disclosure; and we find that the late disclosure of agreed fact 145 at trial, and the late disclosure of the 2023 material, does not make Mr More’s convictions unsafe; and we dismiss Mr More’s appeal against his convictions.”

Sentencing at the time, Justice Peter Openshaw said: "Brian Waters was a loyal and devoted husband and father and his family will remember him as such.

"Because of drug deals that went wrong, Waters became indebted to John Wilson – a more ruthless criminal.

"He could not pay the £20,000 which was demanded of him, and Wilson was determined to make an example of him.

"Wilson discovered that Waters was likely to be at the farm on June 19 and planned and directed an attack on him.

"He put together a team consisting of James Raven, Otis Matthews, the defendant and others who have not yet been brought to justice.

"In my judgement, the attacks on both men were more than an attempted extortion with menace.

"The sustained barbarity and sadism of the attack was intended to deliver a clear message not just to Brian Waters but also to others – that if you crossed John Wilson and failed to pay what he considered was due, there would be very serious consequences."

More was convicted of murder by a majority jury of 10 to two following a month-long retrial.

The 44-year-old victim was killed in a disused cowshed the farm, near to junction 19 of the M6 for Knutsford, on June 19, 2003.

Police at the scene of the murder

Mr Waters – who was operating the site as a cannabis farm – was hung upside down by his ankles, beaten with weapons and burned with melting plastic in front of his own children over a £20,000 drug debt before succumbing to his more than 100 separate injuries.

More, who was aged 25 at the time of the incident, was part of a gang who travelled to the site in the early hours and ransacked the grow before torturing Suleman Razak – who assisted in the operation of the cannabis farm – when he arrived at the scene at around midday.

He was punched and kicked in the face numerous times and knocked unconscious before being hung upside down by his ankles and lowered into a barrel which was filled up with water.

After being electrocuted, Mr Razak was burned with acid, had a pillowcase placed over his head and set on fire and was attacked with a staple gun.

It was then that Mr Waters arrived at the scene and was similarly set upon.

He too was lowered into the barrel of water and beaten with bamboo canes with such ferocity that they snapped, as well as being struck with a metal bar.

A bin bag was also suspended above his head and set alight, causing melting plastic to drip down onto his head.

His son and daughter, who had celebrated her 21st birthday the previous day, then arrived and were attacked – with the latter having the barrel of a gun placed in her mouth.

At the same time, the Waters’ family home in Nantwich was raided by two men who then transported the victim’s wife Julie to the farm.

But the assailants fled when the police arrived simultaneously, with officers discovering Brian Waters’ lifeless body in a milking parlour.

Christopher Guest More Jnr before the incident took place

A Home Office post-mortem investigation recorded a cause of death of multiple injuries – including fractured ribs, a broken nose and breastbone, a bleed on the brain and bruising to the heart.

Evidence of strangulation was also found, while he had suffered burns to his back from a ‘caustic substance’ and had been attacked using the staple gun across his head and body.

Several items discovered at the scene – including a bottle of Sprite, cigarette ends, a glove and human waste – revealed forensic links to More.

He returned his then home at Burford Lane Farm alongside co-conspirator Otis Matthews in the evening after the killing and flew to Malaga from Liverpool John Lennon Airport two days later.

More remained at large for nearly two decades before his capture in Malta two years ago, having been added to Europe’s most wanted list.

The former undercover TV researcher was living under the pseudonym of Andrew Christopher Lamb, a successful businessman and luxury yacht captain.

Matthews, gang boss John Wilson and More’s cousin James Raven were previously convicted of Mr Waters’ murder following trials in 2004 and 2007 and were jailed for life.

Following the sentencing, DI Kate Tomlinson said: "This brings to an end a long journey for all those involved.

“I hope that the conclusion of this case helps the family of Brian Waters and Suleman Razak to finally move forward with their lives knowing that Christopher Guest More Jnr has been brought to justice and is now behind bars for a very long time."