Woman and boy, 16, arrested after man's body found at Coventry flat

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Police were called to Bowness Close on Monday afternoon



A woman and a 16-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man's body was found at a flat.

Police were called to Bowness Close in Coventry at about 15:30 BST on Monday and found the 74-year-old man inside.

The 43-year-old woman and the teenager were in custody while West Midlands Police's investigation continued into the death.

Officers remained at the scene on Tuesday to carry out further enquiries, it said.

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First picture of 'loved' pensioner found dead at Coventry home



This is the first picture of a pensioner whose body was found at a home in Coventry. Michael Brady, 74, was discovered at a property in Bowness Close, Radford, on Monday.

"Mr Brady's family have asked we share this image of their loved one, as they continue to grieve in private," West Midlands Police said. Antoinette Sheppard, 44, and a 16-year-old boy, who can't be named for legal reasons, have jointly been charged with murder.

They have both been held in police custody and are due at Coventry Magistrates Court today (June 22). A police tent was erected at the side of the property in Bowness Close, which at one point was wholly cordoned off by police tape.

Patrol cars and police officers have also been on guard while the force carried out further inquiries into its murder investigation. Devastated neighbours told CoventryLive of their shock at what had happened.

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Coventry woman and teenage boy murdered pensioner then stuffed his body into a TV box



A woman and a teenage boy have been found guilty of murder after luring a pensioner to his death in Coventry. Michael Brady was brutally killed before being shoved into an empty TV box at a flat in Keresley.

Antoinette Sheppard and the teenage boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, murdered Brady at an address on Bowness Close. West Midlands Police say both were convicted of his murder on Tuesday (December 19).

Sheppard, 44, befriended Mr Brady, who was 72 at the time of his death, and lured him to her home, said West Midlands Police. CCTV showed the OAP entering her address shortly after 6pm on June 18, 2023.

At the same time, messages were exchanged between both suspects discussing robbing Mr Brady. It was around this time they murdered the much-loved OAP.

After killing Mr Brady, the pair put his body in a large TV box, dragging it to an external shed to hide, Warwick Crown Court heard. Sheppard and the boy then stole his bank card, taking it to a nearby shop and withdrawing more than £300 to buy alcohol, said West Midlands Police.

Concerns were raised by members of the public which led to police being called to the address in Keresley. When they arrived, they searched the shed and discovered the body of Mr Brady.

While being interviewed, both suspects blamed each other for the death of Mr Brady. Jurors were shown phone messages in which Sheppard and the unnamed teenage boy discussed inflicting violence on someone as one from the boy read: 'I am on one. I am going to hurt people.'

Police say the now 17-year-old boy phoned Sheppard at this time and, when officers answered, said: 'If you want to speak to me, you will have to find me.' He was later found after he told a social worker he had been asked to hide a body, a court heard. Sheppard and the unnamed boy will be sentenced on February 9 at Warwickshire Justice Centre.

Detective Inspector Jim Colclough, of West Midlands Police, said: “It was a tragic case of a vulnerable man being killed by people he thought he could trust. It was a planned and pre-meditated act of violence, with messages exchanged between both defendants discussing what they were going to do.

“Not only did they murder Mr Brady, but they were both perfectly content to try and blame each other for it. We hope his family will take some closure from this and that justice has been done.”

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The face of the teenage killer a judge wanted you to see



This is the face of Kieron Spicer, the teenage killer a judge has allowed readers to see. At a sentencing hearing at Warwick Crown Court earlier this morning (February 9), Judge Andrew Lockhart KC decided to lift restrictions that would have prevented the teen, who is now aged 17, from being named due to his age.

But, due to the severity of the brutal attack both he and Antoinette Sheppard inflicted on Michael Brady, the Judge decided to lift the order which would have prevented CoventryLive from reporting his name as well as his custody image.

It was an usual step as the identity of those aged under 18 are usually withheld from reporting, but the Judge told the court: "Taking into account all of the circumstances in this case, I find there is no good reason to retain reporting restrictions following Kieron's conviction and sentence," he told Warwick Crown Court.

""In my judgement, there is a strong public interest in full and unrestricted reporting of what is plainly an exceptional case."

When he was 16, Spicer hacked the elderly man, who had dementia, with a machete after he and Antoinette Sheppard had lured him to her flat in Bowness Close in Radford on Father's Day last year.

He repeatedly struck the elderly man to the head and shoulder with the weapon, before stamping on his chest, crushing several bones. Then Sheppard, aged 44, used a blue rope to strangle the pensioner to death, as he 'begged for his life', the court was told.

After a four week trial, a jury found the pair guilty of Mr Brady's murder and today Sheppard was given a life sentence to serve a minimum of 30 years minus the 232 days she had already spent on remand.

Spicer, who too has mental health issues and early years trauma, received 18 years in prison, minus the 232 days he has spent in remand. His initial sentence will be spent in juvenile prison as he is not 18 until later this year.

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Barring exceptional circumstances he'll be released on licence and given a new identity as soon as he reaches 18.

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'Missed opportunities' over murdered man's care



A review into the death of a man murdered by two people who befriended him said a number of opportunities had been missed by authorities looking after both the victim and those who attacked him.

Michael Brady, 74, who had bipolar disorder and Alzheimer's disease, was killed in summer 2023 by Antoinette Sheppard, 43, and Kieron Spicer, 16, after they lured him to Sheppard's Coventry home.

Both were convicted of murder later that year and jailed for life.

While the exact circumstances of his death could not have been predicted, the risks to him and others were "clearly defined and articulated" by professionals, the report commissioned by Birmingham Community Safety Partnership said.

"The family have been left broken-hearted and with a sadness that doesn't compare to any loss we have ever had to endure," Mr Brady's daughter said in a statement.

"We hope in time that positive memories will emerge and eclipse the bad ones, and we can remember him without anger."

Detectives said Sheppard and Spicer inflicted a "horrific series of injuries" on Mr Brady, eventually killing him. His body was put into a large box and hidden in a shed before being found by police.

At the start of 2021, Mr Brady was living in a secure rehabilitation unit under the care of mental health services.

His discharge and transition to community care was "high risk" and a multi-agency meeting should have been convened before discharge to agree a risk management plan, the Offensive Weapons Homicide Review, external (OWHR) panel found.

Their report added his alcohol misuse was a known risk factor and relapse prevention should have been integral to planning his discharge.

The review panel, chaired by retired barrister Beryl Mcconnell, also criticised Mr Brady's GP, saying they had "failed to demonstrate professional curiosity around how he was spending his days and how his care and other needs were being met".

In relation to his killers, the report said Sheppard had bipolar disorder and Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, while the teenage boy was diagnosed with attachment disorder and Foetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Sheppard had a history of alcohol dependence as well as previous experiences of trauma and housing instability, it added.

She was supervised by probation services, received mental health care through the NHS, support from a charity and was known to police and housing services.

"Her complex needs required a higher level of intervention and co-ordinated case management, which were not effectively delivered," the report said.

Meanwhile, Spicer's substance misuse, criminality and regular episodes of going missing were among the reasons which formed "significant barriers to building positive relationships with professionals", it found.

Those who worked with the teenager wanted the best outcomes for him, but information about him was not fully passed on to police or children's services in a timely way.

His family instability and possible abuse had increased his susceptibility to emotional and behavioural difficulties, the review said.

Logging incidents with police had helped build a picture of Spicer's activities, but there was a lack of focus on his violent behaviour towards his grandmother, community members, and in a residential unit.

The review called for better communication and oversight within probation services, and made a number of recommendations.

These included referrals to the adult safeguarding team as part of the discharge process for vulnerable people.