CHESHIRE Police say they hope a life sentence handed out for the brutal murder of a Nantwich businessman will bring some closure to his family.

At Chester Crown Court today (Friday) Christopher Guest More Jr was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 24 years for his part in the slaying of Brian Waters at Burnt House Farm in Tabley near Knutsford in 2003.

He was also sentenced to 14 years in prison, to run concurrently, for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm with intent against Suleman Razak.

Guest More Jr went on the run for almost 16 years, stealing another man's identity in a bid to evade justice, before being apprehended living a new life in Malta.

Mr Waters, who was 44 at the time of his death, sustained more than 100 separate injuries to his body after being tortured for more than three hours in a disused barn. He and Mr Razak endured a brutal beating during which they were tied up, whipped and suspended upside down, given electric shocks, burned with acid, stapled and strangled.

A pillowcase was also put over their heads and set on fire.

Mr Waters' son and daughter, who arrived at the farm after their dad, were also tied up and beaten. Both were made to watch events as they unfolded and Mr Waters' wife was later abducted from the family home in Nantwich by two men and taken to the farm.

Three other men – John Wilson, now aged 71, James Raven, now aged 61, and Otis Matthews, now aged 44 – were convicted between 2004 and 2007 of the same offences.

Mr Waters was said to have owed a drugs debt to to Wilson, a well-known dealer from Manchester.

He had been involved in drugs for a number of years and was using Burnt House Farm as a base for growing cannabis with Mr Razak.

Wilson discovered that Mr Waters had his own cannabis farm and asked Guest More Jr to track it down as he was experienced in undercover and surveillance work for individuals and media companies.

Guest More Jr, who at the time of the killing lived at Lymm, claimed at the time of the murder he was completing background research to locate a cannabis farm for covert filming as part of a television documentary.

DNA evidence subsequently linked Raven and Matthews to the scene – Wilson was not there in person but orchestrated it from afar.

Guest More Jr's DNA was found on a glove at the entrance to the farm and on faeces, which had been bagged up and left in the barn, a sprite bottle and on a number of cigarettes butts found in the carrier bag, which was left behind by the men.

It is believed they intended to take the bags with them when they left the scene, but the unexpected arrival of the police and their hurried escape meant that a treasure trove of scientific evidence was left behind.

Guest More Jr fled the UK on June 21, 2003. A European Arrest Warrant was issued in 2004 and, over the years, searches continued in a bid to try and locate him.

He was extradited back to the UK in March 2020.

It took the jury just over 12 hours to reach a verdict that he was guilty of conspiracy to murder Mr Waters after a four-and-a-half week trial.

Det. Insp Kate Tomlinson said: "This brings to an end a long journey for all those involved and 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 Jr has been brought to justice and is now behind bars for a very long time."

The detective added: "The level of violence used against the victims in this case was absolutely shocking. As police officers we are used to dealing with violent crime – but the barbaric nature of this attack is something that you never forget.

"When you look at what happened at the farm that day, and what those men did, it feels like something you only ever see in the movies. It doesn't feel like something that could ever happen in real life, let alone in rural Cheshire."