Police ‘searched for a gun’ in his home for ten months before he was shot dead

He also said Ms Corrigan had spoken of a ‘raid’ on her home address which was carried out on August 17 – less than three months before her brother’s death. Mr Power asked: ‘What kind of warrant did the police have?’ Ms Corrigan replied: “I can’t remember… it was four years ago.”

Mr Power said: “It was a gun attack, wasn’t it,” to which Ms Corrigan said: “I can’t remember.” He then asked, “Have you heard of Ann Marie Bennett, who is she?” Mrs. Corrigan said, “A woman.” Mr. Power said, “How do you know about a woman called Ann Marie Bennett?” Ms Corrigan responds “for having Nyle arrested on false charges”.

Mr Power asked: “What were the false allegations?” with Ms Corrigan replying “something about him coming to her house but he wasn’t charged”. When asked again what the allegations were, Ms Corrigan said: “I don’t remember, do you have them in front of you?”

Mr Power said: “Let me try to jog your memory, is it because he walked around pointing a shotgun at her?” Mr Corrigan’s sister said: ‘A shotgun, that definitely didn’t happen. You’re bringing up things that aren’t relevant.’ Mr Power then asked how she knew, with Ms Corrigan replying: “Because he didn’t have a shotgun. The police would have found it.”

In a separate conversation during a 90-minute cross-examination, Mr Power asked Ms Corrigan how her brother made money. She said: “Nothing, he was 19 when he died. He had anger issues and ADHD. He didn’t work. My mother gave him money.” Mr Power said: “You told police he had no problems with anyone else, is that true?”

Ms Corrigan said she was not aware of this, while Mr Power then asked Ms Corrigan, who was 17 when her brother was killed, to confirm that both she and her mother had access to messages on her phone. She confirmed this was true. He then asked, “Did Nyle deal drugs?” with Ms Corrigan replying: “Not that I know of.”

He said: “Have you ever seen messages about your mother looking for money for drugs?” She replied that she had seen the messages, but she was only seventeen and it was none of her business. He said, “Did you have any suspicion that Nyle might be dealing drugs?” with Mrs Corrigan answering no. He asked again, “Had Nyle had any problems with anyone else, a fight with anyone?” Mrs Corrigan told him: ‘Not that I know of, but he didn’t want to talk to me about it, I was his younger sister.’

Mr Power later asked if Mr Corrigan had ever been stabbed before in 2020, which she confirmed. He said: “How did you know he was stabbed,” while she replied “because he had a scar.” Mr Power asked: “Did Nyle tell you anything about the stabbing,” while Ms Corrigan said no. The lawyer then asked, “I thought you said he didn’t have any problems with anyone else?”

Ms Corrigan said: “You’re talking months before that.” Mr Power said: ‘Do you know anything about the stabbing?’ She said, “No, all I know is he was stabbed. I was 16. Would you mind explaining it to your 16 year old?”

Mr Power later asked Ms Corrigan why her brother had two phones – an iPhone and a Nokia. Then he asked, “Do you know what a graftphone is?” She said: “Everyone knows what a graftphone is” and Mr Power asked her to tell the jury what it was. Mrs Corrigan said: “I don’t know, I’m a girl. I don’t have a graft phone. Why don’t you tell them what it is?”

Mr Power said: “Is it a phone used for criminal activity?” before asking, “Did Nyle have a graft phone?” Ms Corrigan said: “A Nokia and a graft phone are two different things.”

During the prosecution’s opening statement, Mr Wright told the jury that “the origin of the dispute lies with a man named Liam Cohen”. Mr Wright said Mr Cohen also lived at Little Moss Hey with his partner Kayleigh Donnelly and was previously on good terms with Mr Corrigan, but the relationship had “soured” over an unpaid debt.

The court heard reports suggested Mr Cohen owed Mr Corrigan £60, while Wilson, a distant relative of the former, also owed £20. The jury heard messages primarily showing Mrs Kelly using her daughter’s Facebook bill, and later Mr Corrigan himself tried to recover the unpaid money.

Mr Wright said this reached its peak on November 9 when Mr Corrigan sent Ms Donnelly a message saying: “It’s you with the attitude, you bratty bastard. I’m texting you because all he does is blank, tell him I want the money tomorrow.

Mr Wright told the jury that Mr Cohen sent a message to Wilson saying: “Call me boy, I want you to come with Lesley, the cheeky bastard who calls Kay and all that.” Mr Wright said the “petty debts” had escalated and an “irritated” Mr Cohen had “brought in” Wilson.

The prosecution told the jury on November 11 “a team of men gathered around Martin Wilson and traveled to Little Moss Hey”. The court heard that Mrs Kelly and her daughter Mrs Corrigan were at home shortly after 9pm when an Audi 4×4 pulled up to their house and a number of men, “wearing balaclavas and face coverings”, demanded to know where Mr Corrigan was.

Mr Wright told the court the group said: “Nyle was dead”and when Mrs Corrigan left to go to her grandfather’s house, they followed her in the car and shouted at her brother “shouldn’t start something if he wasn’t going to finish it”.

During further questioning yesterday afternoon, Mr Power asked Ms Corrigan if she heard Wilson talking to her mother. She said, “No, I walked away. He got out of the car and said, ‘where is your brother?’ Mr Power replied: “No one said, ‘If we see your brother it’s over for him’, right?”

Mrs Corrigan said to him: “Yes, they did. Did you call me a liar there?” Mr Power said: “I got up,” while Ms Corrigan replied: “Stop being funny.” Mr Power said: “You said Nyle didn’t have a phone number” and continued with “did you hide his drug dealing?” Mrs Corrigan said: “That wasn’t me.”

Mr Power said: “That’s what Martin (Wilson) went to your mother for, to get some cocaine.” Ms Corrigan said: “He is absolutely chatting, oh my god.” Mr Power said: “You weren’t there,” while Ms Corrigan replied: “So why would he jump out of the car and say where your brother is?” Mr Power told Ms Corrigan: “You are trying to fool the jury when you said Nyle had no problems with anyone else,” which she denied.

The jury was previously told that the alleged shooter – Wilson and Smith – met and made the purchase the night of the shooting black hats, face masks and gloves from a supermarket. Mr Wright told the jury they then continued on foot before having a ‘pre-shooting rendezvous when the components of the plan could be brought together including: gun, ammunition, location of the victim, and the rough plan for post-shooting cleanup.”

The two men then allegedly went to the scene where they waited “knowing that Nyle Corrigan would be present”. The court heard the killers exchanged words with their target before and after the shot, which went through his spine and tore an artery, before leaving him to die.

The killers then stole Mr Corrigan’s electric Sur-ron bicycle to escape. The motorcycle was later found abandoned in bushes in the Quickthorn Crescent area, while the firearm, which had a defect preventing a second cartridge from being loaded into the magazine, was later recovered during an unrelated police operation.

Coggins, of The Spinney, Stockbridge Village; Llewellyn, formally of Olivette Way, Saint Helens; Smith from Midway Road Huyton; Wilson, of no fixed address, and Melanie Smith and Mark Sharpe, both also of Midway Road, deny the charges. The trial before Mr Justice Goose continues.