Paul Rogers

Paul Rogers was shot in the stomach at his flat in Catharine Street, Toxteth during what was described as a bungled robbery by two men on 5 August 2000.

One of the men suspected of shooting him, Hussain Obad, was later himself murdered in February 2001. His murder is also unsolved.

The robbery had been arranged by his neighbour, a university student,  who had had a dispute with him over a stolen bicycle. She said that she had met the two men in a pub and had then arranged for them to rob him. However, she said that she didn't know that either of the men had had a gun with them.

She had let the two men in through the communal door of the flat and they had then gone to Paul Rogers's flat to rob him wearing face masks from the horror film Scream.

The neighbour was later sentenced to four years at Liverpool Crown Court in November 2001 after being convicted of conspiracy to rob.

The man that shot Paul Rogers was described as 5ft 10in tall, wearing Kicker shoes, black baggy Adidas tracksuit bottoms, a thick black padded jacket and black leather gloves. The gun the man used was described as black and was thought to have been possibly fitted with a silencer.

The other man was described as between 5ft 8in and 5ft 9in tall, wearing a dark coloured jacket that concealed his face, Kicker trainers, black tracksuit bottoms and black leather gloves.

It was heard that after the two men had gone to his flat that there was an argument afterwhich one of the two men had shot him.

The shooting took place at about 11pm whilst Paul Rogers was watching television with his nine-year-old son.

It was said that when the two men had gone into Paul Rogers's flat they had demanded money but that even when some money was handed over the altercation spilled out into the hall where Paul Rogers was shot. It was said that the other man had already left the flat leaving only Paul Rogers and the gunman in the hallway when the shot was fired.

After being shot, Paul Rogers managed to stagger back into his lounge where he collapsed on the floor in front of his 9-year-old son. His son then called a neighbour who told him to call for an ambulance.

By the time the  arrived, Paul Rogers was unconscious and he was taken to the Royal Liverpool University hospital where he later died.

Paul Rogers had been unemployed at the time and had lived in the area for about nine years.

The police said that he had a minor involvement with dealing cannabis but said that he was not a major player on the cannabis scene and if anything, he had been supplying to people in the locality.

The neighbour was caught after a friend of hers agreed to wear a wire and tape record conversations with her. She was heard saying that she had not known that either of the robbers had a gun, or that they intended to kill Paul Rogers.

When the judge sentenced the neighbour he said, 'You betrayed with tragic consequences a neighbour and friend for the most pathetic of reasons, a dispute over a bicycle Mr Rogers may or may not have had. You decided when you were in the pub with two people that you would suggest to them that he would be a target to rob. You treacherously backed it up by letting them through the communal door of the flat. Intelligent as you are, you would have appreciated that would inevitably involve a degree of violence. I accept you did not know that one of them was going to produce a gun and kill him. But you had known him a long time and what his habits were and must have taken a risk that there might be someone with him. His young son witnessed a horrific scene he will remember for the rest of his life'.