Eerie CCTV footage of Thomas Campbell's killers plotting in the pub days before brutal murder
Eerie CCTV footage shows Thomas Campbell's killers plotting his murder at the Boat and Horses pub in Chadderton, Oldham. John Belfield, the mastermind, along with Stephen Cleworth and Reece Steven, planned the attack, which involved tracking Campbell's car and gathering information from his ex-wife, Coleen Campbell. Campbell was later tortured and murdered at his home. Belfield fled to Suriname but was later arrested and sentenced to life with a minimum of 37 years. Cleworth and Steven received life sentences with minimum terms of 12 and 37 years, respectively, while Coleen Campbell was jailed for 13 years for manslaughter and conspiracy to rob.
CCTV cameras captured John Belfield, Stephen Cleworth and Reece Steven huddled around a table at the Boat and Horses pub in Chadderton, Oldham, on a Monday afternoon as they rehearsed how to slip a tracking device onto Thomas Campbell’s car.
Footage shows Steven demonstrating the tracker while the trio mapped Campbell’s movements; hours later Steven acted as lookout as Cleworth magnetised the device to Campbell’s Vauxhall while the victim walked his child to school. Over the next few days Belfield pestered Campbell’s ex-wife Coleen for updates on his routine, confirming the 38-year-old’s address in Mossley, Tameside.
The surveillance ended in a dawn ambush on 2 July 2022. Campbell was dragged inside his house, stabbed, strangled and scalded with boiling liquid during a two-hour ordeal that left him naked except for a pair of socks; neighbours discovered his body in the hallway the next morning.
Greater Manchester Police traced the plot to Belfield, who fled to Suriname but was extradited and convicted this week at Manchester Crown Court of murder and conspiracy to rob. Mr Justice William Davis jailed him for life with a 37-year minimum term, ruling the killing was driven by Belfield’s jealousy over Campbell’s relationship with his former girlfriend Demi-Lee Driver.
Reece Steven, part of the three-man attack team, received the same 37-year minimum after a 2023 Bolton Crown Court trial. Stephen Cleworth, who spent the murder night on a drink and drugs “bender”, was convicted of manslaughter and ordered to serve at least 12 years, while Coleen Campbell received 13 years for manslaughter. All three accomplices were also found guilty of conspiracy to rob.
Detective Sergeant Paul Davies, who led the inquiry, said: “This was a meticulously planned, targeted attack that we believed Belfield played a leading role in influencing, orchestrating, and executing. The excessive violence used towards the victim made it clear to detectives investigating that Belfield was intending to kill his target.”
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