Dad and daughter laughed after stabbing man in ‘revenge attack’ | UK News

A father and daughter laughed as they together carried out a bloody “revenge attack” on a man outside a Merseyside nightclub.

CCTV footage showed Conor McQuade, 44, sneaking up behind victim Lewis Reed and stabbing him repeatedly outside a nightclub in Widnes, saying “this is what you deserve” as his daughter Charlotte watched and laughed .

The attack, which took place at The Hub nightclub around 2am on January 1, follows an allegation previously made against Mr Reed by Charlotte McQuade in 2020.

He denied the allegation and no action was taken against him, but father and daughter had a “deep grudge” against Mr Reed, a judge heard.

At the two men’s sentencing today at Liverpool Crown Court, a victim impact statement was read out on Mr Reed’s behalf. He said: “Since I was 16, Charlotte has made my life hell with her lies. I tried to help her at the time, refusing to leave her alone in a dangerous situation under the influence drugs, even though she had a reputation for using drugs.

“If you listen to it, I’m a bad person. But if you know the facts, it’s easy to see that she, not me, is in the wrong. Conor McQuade decided to listen to his daughter and instead of getting her the help she needed, he attacked me twice. This last time he really wanted to kill me. I was just trying to have fun at a party like I had done many times before.

The court heard how Charlotte McQuade called her father after spotting Mr Reed at a nightclub on New Year’s Eve, who armed himself with two knives and went to the scene.

On arrival, the two men met and planned the attack outside the club, which resulted in Conor stabbing Mr Reed “to the hilt” as he went out for a smoke. cigarette while telling him “this is what you deserve”.

He told the court: ‘I had seen Charlotte that night and kept my distance like I always did, but unbeknownst to me she had already phoned her father to stab me, to kill me for his own gain.

“Charlotte didn’t succeed in her plan but she took so much from me. My grandfather was admitted to the hospital that night and was receiving end-of-life care. I never got to say goodbye to the man who raised me it hurt to carry his coffin at his funeral.

The attack follows a similar incident in 2023 in which Conor, who has 37 convictions for 67 previous offences, punched Mr Reed after another altercation.

Phil Tully, defending Charlotte, said his client suffered from mental health problems and was “vulnerable”, “highly influenced and easily led”.

He said: “It is clear that she experienced many traumatic events in her childhood, which led to her facing mental health issues. Information from Cheshire Police reveals a long history of violence and domestic violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect.

Condemning Charlotte McQuade, he said: “I have carefully considered the arguments presented on your behalf, but I do not agree with them. With calls and messages, you alerted your father to the presence of Lewis Reed. I am convinced that you did this knowing full well what was going to happen.

“You had a conversation with him outside. CCTV saw you telling your father where Lewis Reed was standing. Although you did not brandish the knife yourself and may not have known exactly how your father planned to do so, I am satisfied that you knew that your father was going to cause very serious injury to Mr. Reed and that was your intention. So I see no reason to treat you any differently from your father.

“You have significant mitigation. You have a good character. There is the problem of your youth – you were 20 at the time of the attack – and you have a low level of maturity. You have expressed true remorse for what happened to Lewis Reed. I accept that you had a very difficult upbringing which led to ongoing mental health problems, although I do not accept that your mental health problems had a significant impact on your culpability.

Conor was sentenced to six years in prison and two more on licence, while Charlotte was sentenced to five years. A restraining order was also imposed, banning her and her father from contacting Mr Reed.

Father and daughter embraced in the docks as they were jailed while members of the public gallery broke down in tears and shouted “I love you Charlotte” as the 21-year-old was led away.

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