One of Europe’s most wanted men has been found guilty of the brutal murder of a father at a farm in rural Cheshire.

Christopher Guest More Jr, who was on the run for almost 16 years, has today been convicted of conspiracy to murder Brian Waters at Burnt House Farm in Tabley.

t took the jury just over 12 hours to reach its verdict following a trial lasting four-and-a-half weeks at Chester Crown Court.

The 43 year-old was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm with intent against another man. He has been remanded into custody and is due to be sentenced on Friday 10 December.

Brian Waters, who was 44 at the time of his death, sustained more than 100 separate injuries to his body after being tortured for more than three hours in a disused barn on the farm.

Another man – Suleman Razak – was left with significant wounds. The pair had to endure a sustained and brutal beating until they lost consciousness, were tied up, whipped with canes, suspended upside down and lowered into a barrel of dirty water, given electric shocks, burned with acid, stapled and strangled. A pillowcase was also put over their heads and set on fire.

Mr Waters’ son and daughter, who arrived at the farm after their dad, were also tied up and beaten. His son had a rope placed around his neck and pulled taut to restrain him while he was beaten and his daughter had a gun placed in her mouth. Both were made to watch events as they unfolded. His wife Julie was later abducted from the family home in Nantwich by two men and taken to the farm. She arrived just as the police turned up at the scene.

Mr Waters, who had been involved in drugs for a number of years, had been using Burnt House Farm as a base for growing cannabis – he jointly rented the farm with a friend. Suleman Razak, who was 20 at the time of the incident, often helped to tend to the plants, which were housed within the farmhouse on the site.

Following the verdict, Detective Inspector Kate Tomlinson, who led the murder investigation, said:

“Today, Christopher Guest More Jr has finally been found guilty of his part in the brutal murder of Brian Waters at Burnt House Farm on 19 June 2003. He fled the UK two days after the incident and stole another man’s identity in a bid to evade justice. We never gave up hope of finding him over the years and the guilty verdict marks a significant point in a long and painful road for all those involved.

“The level of violence used against the victims in this case was absolutely shocking. As police officers we are used to dealing with violent crime – but the barbaric nature of this attack is something that you never forget. When you look at what happened at the farm that day, and what those men did, it feels like something you only ever see in the movies. It doesn’t feel like something that could ever happen in real life – let alone in rural Cheshire.”

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