Inside lives of UK's gangster molls…from sick role in ex's sadistic murder to Kinahan heir dating footballer's daughter

Scottish Sun

9 hours ago

One turned up at court dressed like a Love Island star while her boyfriend was on trial for the harrowing murder of a nine-year-old girl
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DESIGNER wardrobes, glamorous five star holidays and luxury cars may be seen as the less-than-legit perks of life as a gangster's moll.
But the women who share their lives with some of Britain's most infamous criminals have a price to pay for their wealthy lifestyles.
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Vodka boss Nicola Morrissey, 49, is the moll of 'Johnny Cash' Morrissey
Credit: Solarpix
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Thomas Campbell and his ex-wife Coleen Campbell, who was found guilty of his manslaughter
Credit: MEN Media
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TV dramas such as Liverpool-based This City is Ours have shone a light on what goes on within these criminal families - and how the women are often at the heart of 'the firm' (pictured: Laura Aikman, Julie Graham and Melissa Phelan as Rachel Duffy, Elaine Phelan and Melissa Phelan in This City is Ours)
Credit: BBC
Prison sentences, threats, retaliation, damaged reputations and living life looking over your shoulder come with the territory of being a 'mob wife'.
And if their partners' criminality catches up with them and they are arrested and tried for their crimes, courts often hear how behind these powerful and dangerous men are devoted and loyal wives and girlfriends.
While some of these women have undoubtedly been attracted by the financial success of the gangsters, others know no other life, having grown up in homes where criminality is respected and ordinary law-abiding folk are seen as slaves to the system.
TV dramas such as Liverpool-based This City is Ours, and Irish gangland shows such as MobLand and Kin have shone a light on what goes on within these criminal families - and how the women are often at the heart of 'the firm'.
Private investigator Alison Harris, who runs Miss AM Investigating, says there are several reasons why women want to get involved with high level criminals, from having low self-esteem and craving safety to wanting money and prestige.
Alison, who is qualified in profiling and criminology, says: 'If a woman has been brought up with criminal activities, they do not think it's abnormal and think that it's actually normal.
'If a woman has low-self esteem, then to be chosen as a girlfriend or wife of someone who they view as powerful, makes them feel important and special.'
But then there are others who are happy to be seen as a trophy mob wife - and enjoy the very fancy trappings of the proceeds of crime.
'A criminal lifestyle offers a chance for women to live a lifestyle beyond their expectations,' explains Alison, who has just written a book called Private Lies.
'Designer clothes and bags. An affluent address, which could mean a different class of friends and lifestyle.
'Killer' told man he 'tortured to death he was going to s**g his ex'
'They may also get a feeling of safety and being untouchable. The higher up the criminal ladder a man is, then the more they and their families are feared.'
While some gang wives flaunt their affluent lifestyles on social media, others keep a low profile - and some have paid a devastating price for their involvement in the criminal underworld, as we reveal.
Kayleanne Sweeney
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Walking into court to support her partner Thomas Cashman, Kayleanne Sweeney looked more like a Love Islander or model than a woman whose boyfriend stood accused of the most heinous crime
Credit: Alamy
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Kayleanne and Cashman lived in the West Derby area of Liverpool, boosted by his £250,000 per year earnings
Credit: PA
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Cashman was found guilty of gunning down nine-year-old Olivia Pratt Korbel
Credit: PA
Walking into Manchester Crown Court to support her partner Thomas Cashman, Kayleanne Sweeney looked more like a Love Islander or model than a woman whose boyfriend stood accused of the most heinous crime.
Cashman was on trial for the murder that shocked the nation - accused of gunning down nine-year-old Olivia Pratt Korbel as she cowered behind her mother in their Liverpool home.
But that didn't stop Kayleanne turning her arrival at court into a catwalk, with designer outfits, bouncy blow-dries and perfect make-up.
Despite hearing of his infidelity, blonde beauty salon owner Kayleanne was determined to stand by her man.
The court - and Kayleanne - heard it was a woman who he had a fling with that reported him to the police with suspicions he was responsible for Olivia's murder.
Kayleanne and Cashman lived in the West Derby area of Liverpool, boosted by his £250,000 per year earnings.
The couple, who have a son, 14, and four-year-old daughter, are understood to have paid £2,000 a month for a four-bed rented £450,000 property in a high-end development.
But it was ill-gotten gains. Cash - as he was known in Liverpool - earned his money growing and selling cannabis and also acted as an enforcer for the godfathers who ran the Huyton Firm.
Meanwhile Kayleanne drove to work in a £33,000 Land Rover Discovery Sport and enjoyed regular overseas holidays with her gangster partner.
The couple were also renting a luxury two-bed apartment in a block overlooking the River Mersey.
Asked in court whether Ms Sweeney knew the source of his wealth – more than seven times the average salary for the area – Cashman said: "She never asked me, I never told her."
But he admitted she would have had "suspicions" that he dealt drugs.
Cashman was found guilty of Olivia's murder, the wounding of Olivia's mother Cheryl, the attempted murder of his intended target and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment and will not be eligible for parole until he is in his 70s.
Since Cashman's arrest, Kayleanne and their children are believed to have returned to live on the council estate where she grew up.
Coleen Campbell
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Coleen Campbell is serving a 13-year prison term for her involvement in the torture and killing of her drug baron ex-husband, as well as an 18-month sentence for battering a woman with a hammer
Credit: Steve Allen
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Coleen was found guilty of manslaughter in 2023 after a five-week trial
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Coleen's drab cell is a far cry from her previous life as a mob wife with all the trappings of a lucrative life of crime
Credit: Enterprise
The glam Mancunian mum-of-two has paid the ultimate price for her life as a gangsters' moll.
She is serving a 13-year prison term for her involvement in the torture and killing of her drug baron ex-husband, as well as an 18-month sentence for battering a woman with a hammer.
Coleen's drab cell is a far cry from her previous life as a mob wife with all the trappings of a lucrative life of crime, including BMW and Mercedes cars.
Greater Manchester Police began investigating drug dealer Thomas Campbell and wife Coleen in 2014 and uncovered their role in the area's cocaine trade.
Despite their only legitimate income being benefits and Coleen's part-time job at Matalan, the family enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, spending more than £100,000 on luxury cars and holidays.
Their house in Tameside had a new double-storey extension funded by dirty money.
The pair both pleaded guilty to money laundering at Manchester Crown Court in 2019, with Thomas jailed for two years and Coleen handed a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
But three years later detectives had an even bigger case to crack - Thomas Campbell's disappearance and murder.
Given his status as a drugs kingpin he had many enemies, and no one expected now ex-wife Coleen to be involved.
But she gave away her role in his killing in a bizarre way - by visiting a psychic four days after his death.
She told his mother that his spirit had been summoned and shared intimate details about his murder and the injuries he had sustained.
Her ex-mother-in-law became suspicious and alerted police.
Coleen fell under suspicion as only the killers could have known the details about Thomas' fatal wounds.
Cops discovered she had been tipping off the killers about her ex-husband's movements in the run up to the attack, with a phone conversation she had with one of them caught on her home CCTV.
He died after a sadistic assault that left him with 61 separate injuries at his £350,000 townhouse in Mossley, that also saw him robbed of drugs, cash and valuables.
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Thomas Campbell died after a sadistic assault that left him with 61 separate injuries at his £350,000 townhouse in Mossley, that also saw him robbed of drugs, cash and valuables
Credit: MEN Media
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Reece Steven, 29, was convicted of murder and was jailed for life with a minimum of 37 years, while Stephen Cleworth, 38, was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 12 years. Both were also found guilty of conspiracy to rob
Credit: GMP
He was stabbed, punched and stamped on before boiling water was poured on his buttocks. Neighbours found his body in the hallway naked except for his socks.
Coleen was found guilty of manslaughter in 2023 after a five-week trial.
Reece Steven, 29, was convicted of murder and was jailed for life with a minimum of 37 years, while Stephen Cleworth, 38, was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 12 years. Both were also found guilty of conspiracy to rob.
Earlier this year Coleen Campbell and three other defendants pleaded guilty to violent disorder following the Manchester street brawl where a woman was attacked with a hammer - just three days before Thomas Campbell's murder.
Coleen Campbell also pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Nicola Cassells
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Nicola Cassells is the ex-girlfriend of John Bonner, a gangster who drove notorious Daniels enforcer Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll to an Asda car park where he was murdered in 2010 in what is one of the most infamous gangland hits in Scotland
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Nicola with her Scottish gangster ex John Bonner
Credit: Facebook
Brunette Nicola is believed to be one of the most connected molls in the Scottish underworld.
She is the ex-girlfriend of John Bonner, a gangster who drove notorious Daniels enforcer Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll to an Asda car park where he was murdered in 2010 in what is one of the most infamous gangland hits in Scotland.
And the mother-of-three has also allegedly slept with kingpin Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel, who was left with horrific scars after being chased down and slashed with a meat cleaver.
Furthermore, she reportedly had a fling with David Togher of the Richardson gang.
Private investigator Alison Harris says there is a term to describe someone who is sexually attracted to men who commit crimes - hybristophilia.
She explains: 'It's not the crimes that they commit, it's the traits and characteristics of a criminal that they find exciting.'
Some experts believe hybristophilia can be caused by childhood trauma, or can affect people who believe they can nurture or change the criminal.
Nicola Morrissey
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Father-of-two Johnny was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of money laundering. Nicola was also arrested and bailed as part of the same probe
Credit: Solarpix
Vodka boss Nicola Morrissey, 49, is the moll of 'Johnny Cash' Morrissey.
'Johnny Cash' earned his nickname from his habit of carrying around large wads of money, and is a mobster linked to the Kinahan cartel, a leading Irish organised crime group.
Johnny and his wife share a property empire while enjoying the fruits of their Nero premium vodka business in the Costa Del Sol.
Conservative MP and former crime journalist Russell Findlay, who was targeted in an acid attack by the gangs, told the Scottish Parliament in 2022: "One Kinahan gang member who has been sanctioned [by US authorities in 2022] is John Morrissey, along with his Glasgow-based vodka company, Nero Drinks.
"The Kinahans are not interested in flogging vodka — their real business is cocaine and heroin.'
Father-of-two Johnny was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of money laundering. Nicola was also arrested and bailed as part of the same probe.
When police raided their home they found expensive artwork and wads of cash. Nicola had previously been interviewed by Marbella magazine Exclusive Life with a photoshoot detailing the extent of their wealth.
In one shot she posed beside a £350,000 Rolls-Royce in a long scarlet dress, while in another photo she seemed to be wearing a diamond necklace.
Jane Park
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Lotto millionaire Jane Park dated Richardson mobster David Togher, who previously is thought to have slept with Nicola Cassells
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Jane also dated Marc Webley, who was shot dead outside an Edinburgh pub on New Year's Eve
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Jane Park, 30, shot to fame back in 2013 when she became the UK's youngest Euromillions winner, scooping £1million aged just 17 on a lucky dip ticket.
Since then she has led a rollercoaster life as part of a gangster love-swap and undergoing a series of plastic surgery ops.
Park once dated Richardson mobster David Togher, who previously is thought to have slept with Nicola Cassells.
However, Togher is believed to have cheated on Park with his friend Marc Webley's girlfriend, Jodie Steele.
Webley was also part of the Richardson crew and was jailed for 11 years in 2005 aged 19 for attempted murder, after what was described as a failed gangland hit.
After Togher was spotted with Steele, former chip shop worker Park started dating Webley, completing the partner swap between the two gangsters.
Shortly after her lottery win, she splashed out £4,500 on a boob job. But in 2017, a Brazilian butt lift left her desperately ill after she contracted sepsis.
She then started selling racy topless pictures of herself on subscription site OnlyFans.
And in 2023 she told her 200,000 Instagram followers she had flown to Turkey for a second boob job and a round of liposuction.
It was in the same year that her relationship with Richardson gangster Marc Webley came to an end when he was shot dead outside an Edinburgh pub on New Year's Eve.
Caoimhe Robinson
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Caoimhe Robinson is married to suspected Kinahan mobster Daniel 'Chess' Kinahan
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Blonde Caoimhe, Kinahan and their children relocated to Dubai from Spain amid an outbreak of ­gang violence on the Costas
Caoimhe Robinson married suspected Kinahan mobster Daniel 'Chess' Kinahan, 47, in a glitzy ceremony at the £1,000-a-night Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai in 2017.
Caoimhe, from Coolock in the north of Dublin, is also the ex-girlfriend of gangster Micka 'The Panda' Kelly, who was linked to six murders and shot dead by the Real IRA in 2011.
The Panda was gunned down as he left an apartment in north Dublin. His dead body was shot again before a car was driven over him.
Blonde Caoimhe, Kinahan and their children relocated to Dubai from Spain amid an outbreak of ­gang violence on the Costas and the police's increased determination to tackle the international drugs and arms trafficking mob.
It was a savvy business move as she has sold and let millions of pounds worth of property in Dubai despite international sanctions freezing her husband's assets.
This allegedly includes a mansion that was rented out for £20,000-a-year before being sold for £4.3million, and a luxury villa with a swimming pool and a terrace overlooking a golf course that was sold last May for nearly £10million.
Months before she started selling her properties, the US unveiled sanctions against seven senior figures in the Kinahan cartel and a $5million (£4million) bounty for the arrest of Daniel, his father 'The Dapper Don', and brother Christopher Jr.
Caoimhe is not the target of any sanctions or arrest warrants and - unlike other members of the Kinahan family - is not a fugitive.
Simoan McEnroe
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Simoan McEnroe with her husband, Kinahan Cartel mob boss Liam Byrne
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Their eldest son, Lee Byrne, is engaged to and having a baby with ex-England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's daughter Lilly
Credit: Instagram / @lilly.gerrardd
Simoan, 43, is married to Kinahan Cartel mob boss Liam Byrne, 44, and is understood to be one of the most trusted members outside of the immediate family.
The couple have been married for 27 years and have three children aged nine, 14 and 24. There is no suggestion she or her children are involved in crime themselves.
Their eldest, Lee Byrne, is engaged to and having a baby with ex-England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's daughter Lilly, 21.
Along with his brother-in-law Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh, Liam Byrne helped run the Kinahans' UK operation and was jailed for five years in 2024 for his part in a submachine gun haul plot.
During the trial he claimed to be a car salesman and a "spray painter by trade".
Despite this, he and Simoan share a home in a gated community in an exclusive part of Merseyside.
In January this year Byrne was released from prison with an electronic tag as part of the Prime Minister's controversial Early Release Scheme to ease overcrowding in prisons.