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London murder suspect Shane O'Brien put on Europe's most wanted list

Reward of up to £50,000 is available for information leading to the arrest and prosecution

Henry Austin
Saturday 14 April 2018 00:29 BST
Shane O'Brien is suspected the murder of 21-year-old Josh Hanson.
Shane O'Brien is suspected the murder of 21-year-old Josh Hanson. (PA)

A British man suspected of murder has been named on a list of Europe's most wanted fugitives.

Shane O'Brien is the chief suspect in the 2015 murder of 21-year-old Josh Hanson, who was killed in an unprovoked knife attack in a bar in Hillingdon, west London.

Europol, which has announced Europe's most wanted, said O'Brien is wanted for murder and grievous bodily injury.

A reward of up to £50,000 is available for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of O'Brien.

In February 2017, he was arrested in Prague for criminal damage and assault but used the Italian alias of Enzo Mellonceli, supported by false documentation and was bailed pending further enquiries.

An image taken then shows he has grown his hair, has a full beard and has a distinctive new tattoo of an owl holding a skull, which covers up his previous "Shannon 15-04-06" tattoo.

After he fled again Hanson's mother, Tracey, said the family was waiting for justice "for the most heinous crime that my son had to endure and justice to ensure that innocent people are safe."

She saidL “I hope and pray that you only ever have to imagine what I have just shared with you and it never becomes your reality, because it rips at your soul and your very being.

“Please can you help us. Josh leaves behind a sister and a family who miss and love him very much."

O'Brien, originally from Ladbroke Grove, is said to use aliases including Enzo Mellonceli and Enzo Machado.

Mr Hanson, from Kingsbury in north-west London, was found with a serious wound to the neck at the RE Bar in Hillingdon at about 1.10am on October 11 2015. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as haemorrhage, inhalation of blood and an incised wound to the neck.

O’Brien, originally from Ladbroke Grove, is described as white and 1.8 metres (6ft) tall with grey eyes and dark brown hair.

Press Association contributed to this report

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