'Mystery members' of murder gang

Joan and John Stirland reported prowlers before their deaths

The prosecution at the trial of eight men accused of conspiring to murder a couple has said not all the gang members responsible are in the dock.

John and Joan Stirland were gunned down in 2004 at their bungalow in the village of Trusthorpe, Lincolnshire.

The jury was told that while most of those involved had been charged, there remained "persons unknown" who had played a part in the killings.

The eight men deny conspiracy to murder at Birmingham Crown Court.

There are unanswered questions in this case and there will be unanswered questions at the end of it Timothy Spencer, QC

Timothy Spencer QC, prosecuting, said there was evidence of a "command structure" in the way the couple's murders had been organised.

He added that the user of one of the two "murder phones" bought for the purpose of organising the shootings remained unknown.

Within a couple of days of the attack, all but two of the seven mobile phones used by different gang members to communicate with one another had been switched off and were never used again, he added.

Mr Spencer praised "meticulous" police work in putting together material which he said showed defendants contacting one another and at key locations in the run-up to the shootings.

He told the court, officers retrieved DNA samples belonging to two defendants from toothbrushes found in a caravan which he said was used as a base by some gang members in the days leading up to the double shooting.

The prosecution suggest that we have the greater part of this gang. We don't suggest we have all of it Timothy Spencer, QC

Revenge motive

In closing his opening speech, Mr Spencer said: "There are unanswered questions in this case and there will be unanswered questions at the end of it.

"The prosecution suggest that we have the greater part of this gang. We don't suggest we have all of it."

Mr and Mrs Stirland, who were originally from Nottingham, were killed following the conviction of Mrs Stirland's son Michael O'Brien for the murder of Marvyn Bradshaw in August 2003.

John Russell, 29, of Northcote Way, Nottingham; Michael McNee, 20, of no fixed address; Shane Bird, 38, of Carlton Hill, Nottingham; and Kevin Holm, 38, of Cliff Road, Carlton, Nottingham, all deny a charge of conspiring to murder Mr and Mrs Stirland.

Andrew McKinnon, 21, of no fixed address and Lanelle Douglas, 20, of no fixed address, also deny the same charge along with a 38-year-old man and a 40-year-old man who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The trial was adjourned until Monday.