Abdi Ali remains wanted by police in connection with the murder of Shaun Lyall, whose body was found at a house on Sidney Street in Cleethorpes in July 2018 (Image: Grimsby Live)
Grimsby Crown Court heard Abdi Ali, wanted in connection with the murder of Shaun Lyall, is thought to have fled to Somalia
The prime suspect in a Cleethorpes murder investigation is thought to have fled to Somalia, with “no way” he would be forced to return. Extensive efforts have been made to trace Abdi Ali, originally from Somalia but with links to the Grimsby area and several others across the country, as part of a major police inquiry launched after Shaun Lyall, 47, was found dead at his home on Sidney Street in July last year.
But with no extradition arrangement with the east African country, it is unlikely Ali’s enforced return would happen, a court heard. The development came as the case of a Grimsby man accused of assisting an offender in connection with the matter was mentioned at Grimsby Crown Court. Craig Whittle, 45, of Corporation Road, is accused of washing the body of Mr Lyall and disposing of blood-stained footwear between July 15 and July 18 last year.
A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Lyall had been brutally beaten to death with a variety of sharp and blunt weapons before emergency services were called to the terraced home in the early evening of July 17. The road from Daubney Street to Sidney Court was closed all night and a forensic tent was set up outside the house. Whittle was due to appear in custody before the court on Friday but was not brought into the courtroom because of problems in the case.
Defence barrister Andrew Bailey said that it was thought that Ali, 29, had gone to Somalia “never to return”. Prosecutor Allan Armbrister said: “There is no way he would be extradited.” A year after Mr Lyall’s death, his family vowed to do all they could to get justice for their son as Ali, who also has links to Sheffield, London, Lancashire, South Yorkshire, Merseyside, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Lincolnshire, and Cleveland, remained at large.
Ali, who was also known as ‘Madman’, had a distinctive gold front tooth but that is likely to have been removed following the launch of the hunt in the murder inquiry. Around the anniversary of Mr Lyall’s death, Humberside Police also confirmed officers were still looking for Ali in connection with the murder of Mr Lyall.
The force urged anyone with information on Ali’s whereabouts to come forward by calling the non-emergency 101 number, quoting log 517 of 17 July 2018. Anyone who sees him was advised to immediately call 999. The case against Whittle was adjourned until September 6 for further work to be carried out on the details of it and he was remanded in custody in his absence.
He is also accused of affray, possessing a knife in a public place and possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply. Those four charges relate to an incident in Blackpool on July 13 last year.
Source: Grimsby Live