Little Boy Blue: Where is Rhys Jones' killer Sean Mercer now?

The death of Rhys Jones has been turned into a four-part drama, which is being given a second airing on ITV after first being shown in 2017.

Going out across four nights, the emotional climax of this gripping series airs tonight.

Rhys was 11-years-old when he was killed in 2007 as he walked home after football practice.

He was shot in the back in the car park of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth, Liverpool – an innocent bystander between two rival gangs.

Sean Mercer, then 18, fired three shots from a revolver, the second of which killed Rhys.

Rhys’ mum Melanie heard what had happened and was driven to the car park where paramedics tried to resuscitate her son for an hour and a half, but he tragically died.

Mercer’s trial lasted nine weeks, and was found guilty in 2008. He was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years.

During the trial it was heard that Mercer was a leading member of the Croxteth Crew gang, which was embroiled in an intense feud with the Strand Gang.

Where is Sean Mercer now?

He is imprisoned in HMP Frankland in Durham where he will remain until 2030 at the earliest.

Steve spoke to Susanna Reid in ITV documentary The Murder of Rhys Jones: Police Tapes in 2018, where he addressed the verdict of the trial.

‘Mercer gets 22 years which at the time we were happy with that tariff, but we live that life sentence now,’ he explained.

‘There is no end of sentence for us, there just isn’t. We are the ones that suffer, our family is still suffering and will do for the rest of our lives, from the pain of losing Rhys.’

In Little Boy Blue, Mercer is played by Paddy Rowan with newcomer Sonny Beyga as Rhys.

It also stars Line Of Duty actor Stephen Graham as Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly, who led an investigation into Rhys’ death.

Little Boy Blue airs tonight at 9pm on ITV.

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