Ryan O’Connor: Horrific Newport murder which shocked city

Joseph Jeremy and Lewis Aquilina callously laughed as 26-year-old Ryan O'Connor lay dying in a pool of blood in Newport.

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The victim, known to many by his nickname ‘Apple’, was minding his own business and walking home at the end of a glorious June day.

Ryan O'Connor was a popular figure in Newport

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His killers struck out of nowhere and repeatedly stabbed him to rob him of his designer bag.

Joseph Jeremy had a history of violence with a previous conviction for wounding

Young hoodlums Jeremy and Aquilina had travelled to Newport from their home city of Cardiff looking for trouble that day.

They were travelling in a stolen car in the Alway area of the city with Ethan Strickland and Kyle Raisis when they spotted Mr O’Connor.

Lewis Aquilina who blamed Joseph Jeremy for murdering Mr O’Connor during their trial

They didn’t know their victim who had just enjoyed a meal with his brother and his family that sunny evening on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

Jeremy and Aquilina got out of the Fiesta in the Aberthaw Road/Balfe Road roundabout area and charged at Mr O’Connor armed with machetes.

Kyle Raisis supplied his cousin Lewis Aquilina with a 15-inch hunting knife used to stab Apple

Cardiff Crown Court heard how the terrified young dad stumbled and fell as he was being chased by them.

Michael Brady KC, prosecuting, told Newport Crown Court: “Ryan O’Connor, Apple, was the entirely innocent victim of this murderous attack.

Ethan Strickland’s barrister said he has ‘a low IQ and was easy manipulated’

“He was not known to any of the defendants. He had no connection to them at all and had done nothing untoward to attract the attention of those in the Ford Fiesta ST.

“It never ceases to amaze, does it, the reason for which some people are killed.

Dozens of floral tributes were left at the scene where Ryan O'Connor was murdered. Image: Athena Picture Agency

“A Gucci bag and its contents of £40 are the reason why Mr O’Connor’s life was taken.”

Mr Brady added: "The defendants were on a road trip to commit crime.

“The speed and brutality with which he was attacked gave Mr O’Connor no chance.”

Ryan O’Connor had enjoyed playing golf on the day he was killed

The court heard how his killers had laughed and mocked him as he lay dying on the ground before they sped off back to Cardiff.

Jeremy, 18, of no fixed abode, and Aquilina, 21, of Canton Court, Riverside, Cardiff, were both found guilty of robbery and murder after a trial.

Raisis, 19, of Bartley Wilson Way, Canton, was convicted of manslaughter and robbery.

Kyle Raisis holding a fearsome weapon. The trial heard that some of the defendants were fascinated by knives

Strickland, 20, of Clos Briallen, Caerau, Cardiff, was found guilty of robbery.

A fifth man, Elliott Fiteni, 21, of no fixed abode, Cardiff, was cleared of all charges after the jury found him not guilty of murder, manslaughter and robbery.

Jeremy and Aquilina were both jailed for life and will have to serve 24 years and 22 years in prison respectively before being eligible for parole.

The gang were caught after the stolen Ford Fiesta ST they were travelling in was boxed in by police following a dramatic car chase through Cardiff

However the judge, Mr Justice Saini, warned the two they may never be released.

Raisis was locked up for 12 years and told he must serve two-thirds of that sentence in custody before being released.

Strickland was jailed for eight years.

Ryan O'Connor

A popular figure in Newport, Mr O’Connor’s death has devastated his family and friends.

His family suffered another tragedy after his father John died earlier this year during the trial.

Hundreds gathered to pay tribute to Mr O’Connor following his death and laid floral tributes at the spot where he was so cruelly murdered.

After Apple’s killers were jailed, Detective Superintendent Martin Price from Gwent Police paid tribute to the Alway community.

"We had a number of people come to help us and they provided really important, crucial evidence to help us put the pieces together to solve this investigation," he said.

Mr O’Connor’s family said of him: “Ryan’s tragic death has left us broken and those responsible will never realise the impact their actions have had on our family which will never be the same again.

“It is of some comfort that these violent and dangerous individuals are now off the streets and not able to inflict on anyone else the pain and heartbreak we feel every minute of every day.”