Two cousins have been sentenced to jail time after being found guilty of a “sickening premeditated attack” that killed a man they held a grudge against for five years. Warren Burns was punched, kicked in the head, and stamped on during the attack on Heysham Avenue in Fallowfield, Manchester, on 21 May. Ryan White, aged 29, was convicted of murder and jailed for at least 17 years while his cousin, Damian White, aged 34, was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 11 years. The police received a 999 call after a group of men broke into Mr Burns’ house while he was with his partner and baby son. Officers later found Mr Burns unconscious and badly injured in an upstairs bedroom. He was taken to Salford Royal Hospital, where he died three days later.
The attack was targeted and premeditated, and it became apparent that Ryan White and Damian White had held a grudge towards Mr Burns for several years; they had gone looking for Mr Burns “to seek what they saw as revenge.” In 2018, Mr Burns had been on a night out with friends when Ryan’s brother, Noel White, was killed. The man accused of murdering Noel White was acquitted following a trial. The White family felt Mr Burns’ witness account had contributed to the man being found not guilty, the force added. A “verbal altercation” between members of both families at a festival in Fallowfield was the “catalyst” for Ryan and Damian White to go looking for Mr Burns. CCTV showed two vehicles that the men used to travel to and from Heysham Avenue.
The men were arrested, and detectives found calls were made between them, which showed their planning and participation before and after the attack. Phone evidence also placed them in the vicinity of Heysham Avenue at the time. The two vehicles used by the men were recovered by the police. The men from Manchester disposed of mobile phones, clothing, and footwear and fled to Oldham and Stoke.
Detective Inspector Louise Edwards has said, “Warren had just welcomed his second child and was about to embark on life as a father of two. His life was cruelly taken away from him in a senseless act of sickening and unprovoked violence.” Paying tribute to him, Mr Burns’ family said: “Warren was a much-loved son, brother, partner, and father.
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