Dale Murray jailed for the murder of dad-of-three Tommy Grace in Prescot

Heroin addict Dale Murray, 32, of no fixed address, was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of the 54-year-old's murder today, Monday, October 15.

Dale Murray has 80 previous convictions for 184 offences

He was sentenced to life, serving a minimum of 23 years.

Murray, who has 80 previous convictions for 184 offences spanning the last two decades, including violence and possessing weapons, denied the “merciless” attack during a chance street encounter with Mr Grace, who just six minutes earlier was described as leaving the Deane’s House pub in Eccleston Street, Prescot “happy and without a care in the world.”

The scene after the murder in Prescot

The jury of five women and seven men heard that Mr Grace, was walking walking to his nearby home in Beaconsfield on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 when he encountered Murray walking in the opposite direction.

There was a short lived altercation before both men carried on in their respective ways, before Murray, who hears voices telling him to kill, turned back on himself just 90 seconds later armed with a knife.

Another fight broke out at 9.30pm during which Mr Grace swung a shopping bag at Murray, who then lunged at the victim's neck stabbing him five times and cutting his jugular veins.

Family man Tommy Grace was stabbed to death

The victim stumbled a few yards along Cypress Street towards his home shouting, “I’m f…ing dying” and then collapsed to the ground.

Neighbours and paramedics rushed to help and he was rushed to Whiston Hospital but was pronounced dead at 10.20pm.

Meanwhile Murray, who had only been released from jail four days earlier, had run off but was arrested shortly afterwards by which time he had disposed of the murder weapon, said Richard Pratt, QC, prosecuting.
When questioned by police, he denied knowing anything about the stabbing but during the trial claimed self-defence and diminished responsibility.

A forensic tent was erected at the crime scene in October last year

Judge Andrew Menary told Murray, who showed no reaction, that it was agreed he suffers from symptoms of schizophrenia with associated paranoia and hearing voices. The judge added that Murray's condition has markedly defined his life since the age of 18 and he has not always co-operated with his treatment regimes.

He said that Mr Grace “was clearly a popular customer who enjoyed meeting others, having a laugh and a joke and singing along to the music. When he left that night shortly after 9 pm he cannot have known then he would never make it home.”

He said that Murray “didn’t bother to wait” for his medication after being freed from prison on October 6 and instead lived rough for four days and stealing to buy drugs and his mental condition was deteriorating.
“Tragically the defendant was walking the same route as Tommy Grace and Mr Grace was in the right place but at the wrong time so that their paths crossed.”

He said that Murray had repeatedly and deliberately lied to police, doctors and the court about what happened but it was clear from CCTV that there was an initial contact in Eccleston Street. During this incident Murray may have been pushed backwards by Mr Grace because he was making a nuisance of himself asking for money.

He then deliberately followed the victim possibly because he was angry and wanted revenge or to rob him. “You launched a deadly attack on his moments after catching up with him…..The attack was merciless.”

He added: “The tragic fact is that Tommy Grace was killed in a completely senseless random chance encounter with you – someone who habitually carried a knife.”

In an impact statement, Mr Grace’s sister, Paula Murphy, today told how his death had had “a traumatic effect upon their entire family.
“Ever since the day of Tommy’s death we have lost a little bit of our mother, its almost as though she too died that day.”

She stated that Mr Grace’s three children, including his 14-year-old ‘little princess’ daughter, are struggling and she and her sisters “have lost our only brother, our best friend.

“Since this none of us have been able to adjust, we have had time off work and had to see our doctors because of the effect this has had on us.

“One year on and we still struggle to accept this has happened, we still see people and think its Tommy. As a family we have lost a brother, a son, a best friend, a father to his children. Our mother is 81 and is now a shell of her former self.”

Welcoming the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector John Griffith said: "This was a particularly nasty and unprovoked attack on an innocent and much loved family man who was minding his own business.

"The fact that Murray pleaded not guilty to murder meant that Tommy Grace’s family were forced to sit through an upsetting trial.

"I would like to thank the family of Tommy Grace for conducting themselves in a dignified manner throughout the whole process in what has been an extremely distressing and difficult time in their lives.

"No sentence can bring Mr Grace back but I hope that today’s verdict and sentencing means that his family can now move on with their lives and means that Dale Murray is behind bars where he belongs."

The court had heard that an earlier attack on Murray's cellmate in Walton prison happened on August 7, 2017 while he was serving a sentence for possessing a blade, shop lifting and breaching a suspended sentence.

After Murray had smoked half a Spice joint he told Mr Ryan, who regarded him as his mate and had three times earlier told staff of concern about him, that he was stoned.

Murray, who had deliberately wrapped a cloth around his hand, then walked up to him as he lay on his bunk and, after grazing his neck with a broken cup, swung it down towards his throat.

Luckily his victim was able to grab his hand and though he received a cut which needed stitches he was able to avoid more serious injury. Murray was saying, ‘Dad, they’re telling me’ as he launched the attack.

Judge Menary said: “It is impossible for me to know what was the dominant factor – the mental illness or the Spice – but each played a significant role in causing you to do what you did. You have little control over your psychosis but you must know that taking illicit substances only makes the matter worse.”

He pointed out that there was a newspaper report today saying that Spice “turns people into monsters".

John McDermott, QC, defending, said that Murray appeared to be having a psychotic episode at the time of the prison attack and it was impossible to say by what degree Spice had influenced his behaviour.

He said there was no doubt that the defendant’s life has been blighted by his mental illness “and there was an inevitability about what would happen".

After leaving prison four days before the murder he had been living on the streets and went back on to drugs “and he was in one sense an accident waiting to happen but no one could predict the gravity of the offending,” said Mr McDermott.

A large cordon was erected as police began the investigation that brought Murray to justice

Detective Chief Inspector John Griffith said: "This was a particularly nasty and unprovoked attack on an innocent and much loved family man who was minding his own business.

"The fact that Murray pleaded not guilty to murder meant that Tommy Grace’s family were forced to sit through an upsetting trial.

"I would like to thank the family of Tommy Grace for conducting themselves in a dignified manner throughout the whole process in what has been an extremely distressing and difficult time in their lives.

"No sentence can bring Mr Grace back but I hope that today’s verdict and sentencing means that his family can now move on with their lives and means that Dale Murray is behind bars where he belongs."