Man convicted of triple execution

Miran Thakrar, 24, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of the murders of Keith Cowell, 52, his son Matthew Cowell, 17, and friend Tony Dulieu, 33. The trio were killed with a Mac 10 sub-machine gun at the house in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, in August last year.

The jury took 44 hours and 30 minutes to reach unanimous verdicts on three counts of murder.

Thakrar denied the murders as well as attempted murders of two women in the house at Plaw Hatch Close - counts on which the jury has not yet reached verdicts.

His brother Kevan Thakrar, 21, of Lomond Way, Stevenage, also denies three counts of murder and two attempted murders. Four other defendants deny charges of assisting an offender.

As the foreman gave guilty verdicts on the murder charges for Miran, family in the packed public gallery wept.

During the trial the court heard the three men were massacred by Miran at the house, where he had come for a £30,000 cocaine deal with drug dealer Ian Jennings. Mr Jennings survived the attack, hiding in the back garden. His mother Christine Jennings, 54, and Matthew Cowell's girlfriend Clare Evans, 23, who were both in the house, were stabbed in the attack.

Mr Jennings told the jury Miran - known as Mike - had threatened to kill them only weeks before over a previous £16,000 deal. He said he had dismissed Mike's "gangster" threats. He later agreed to the £30,000 cocaine deal for August 28 after Thakrar apologised, the court heard.

The jury of five men and six women are yet to reach verdicts on remaining charges in the case. Kevan Thakrar denies three counts of murder and two of attempted murder. Four other defendants appear alongside the brothers accused of assisting them. They are Atul Thakrar, 47, of Lomond Way, Stevenage, and 25-year-old Jay Thakrar of the same address, Amanda Dansie, 21, of High Street, Buntingford, and Yilay Tufensoy, 21, of Nags Head Road, London.

The jury are due to return to continue its deliberations.