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Murder of Anthony Walker

SOLVED2005McGoldrick Park, Huyton, Merseyside, England3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

Anthony Delano Walker was an 18-year-old Black British student of Jamaican descent, in his second year of A-levels, living in Huyton, Merseyside with his parents Gee and Steve Walker and his siblings. The Walker family were among the first Black families to settle in Huyton, and the children reportedly experienced racial name-calling at both primary and secondary school.

On the night of 29 July 2005, Walker spent the evening at home with his girlfriend, Louise Thompson, babysitting his nephew. At 11 p.m., the couple left the house and walked to a bus stop together with Walker's cousin, Marcus Binns. There they encountered 17-year-old Michael Barton, who threatened to stab Walker and Binns. As the group moved to another bus stop near McGoldrick Park, Barton and his friend Paul Taylor, 20, followed them by car and ambushed them at the park. Binns and Thompson escaped and ran to get help, but Walker was struck in the head with an ice axe wielded by Taylor. The axe lodged in his skull, causing brain death. He was taken first to Whiston Hospital and then to the Walton Centre, where he died at 5:25 a.m. on 30 July 2005.

By the following morning, Barton and Taylor had fled to Amsterdam. After police named them as suspects, Barton's brother, footballer Joey Barton, publicly appealed for them to return to the UK and turn themselves in. The pair flew back to Liverpool on 3 August 2005 and were arrested and charged with murder.

The trial took place between November and December 2005. On 1 December 2005, Taylor and Barton were convicted of Walker's murder. Taylor had admitted the murder shortly before the trial began. Lord Justice Leveson, passing life sentences, described the crime as a "terrifying ambush" and a "racist attack of a type poisonous to any civilised society." Taylor received a minimum term of 23 years and eight months, while Barton received a minimum term of 17 years and eight months; Barton's sentence was later reduced by eight months in 2016 in recognition of improvements in his behaviour, and he was released from prison in September 2022 after serving 17 years.

Three further individuals were later convicted for assisting Barton and Taylor's flight to the Netherlands: Robert Williams, convicted of providing money and booking a hotel room, was sentenced to two years and four months; Paul Morson received 11 months for providing a getaway car; and Tracy Garner received an 11-month suspended sentence with 50 hours of community service after admitting assisting an offender.

After the trial, racist graffiti was left at the scene of the murder, and in April 2006 it was reported that Barton had been attacked by fellow inmates at Moorland Closed Prison in South Yorkshire. Walker's mother Gee Walker publicly stated her decision to forgive her son's killers, while his girlfriend Louise Thompson said she would never forgive them. The case drew widespread UK media coverage and public discussion, including comparisons—both drawn and disputed—with the 1993 killing of Stephen Lawrence.

Key facts

Victims
Anthony Walker
Date
2005
Location
McGoldrick Park, Huyton, Merseyside, England
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2005-07-29

    Anthony Walker is ambushed and fatally struck in the head with an ice axe near McGoldrick Park, Huyton, Merseyside.

  2. 2005-07-30

    Anthony Walker dies at the Walton Centre at 5:25 a.m. after being taken from Whiston Hospital.

  3. 2005-08-03

    Michael Barton and Paul Taylor, who had fled to Amsterdam, fly back to Liverpool and are arrested and charged with murder.

  4. 2005-12-01

    Michael Barton and Paul Taylor are convicted of Walker's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

  5. 2006-04

    It is reported that Barton was attacked by fellow inmates at Moorland Closed Prison, South Yorkshire.

  6. 2006-05-10

    Robert Williams is convicted of assisting Barton and Taylor's flight, receiving a sentence of two years and four months.

  7. 2006

    The Anthony Walker Foundation is created; the first Anthony Walker Festival is held.

  8. 2016

    Michael Barton's minimum term is reduced by eight months to 17 years in recognition of improvements in his attitude and behaviour.

  9. 2020

    TV film Anthony, dramatising Walker's case, is broadcast, made with the support of Gee Walker.

  10. 2022-09

    Michael Barton is released from prison after serving 17 years.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Tracy Garner

    CONVICTED

    Admitted assisting an offender; received an 11-month suspended sentence and 50 hours of community service.

    citation on file

  • Robert Williams

    CONVICTED

    Convicted on 10 May 2006 of providing money and booking a hotel room to help Barton and Taylor flee to the Netherlands; sentenced to two years and four months.

    citation on file

  • Michael Barton

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of Anthony Walker's murder on 1 December 2005; sentenced to life with a minimum term of 17 years and eight months (later reduced to 17 years); released September 2022.

    citation on file

  • Paul Taylor

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of Anthony Walker's murder on 1 December 2005 after admitting the killing before trial; sentenced to life with a minimum term of 23 years and eight months.

    citation on file

  • Anthony Walker

    VICTIM

    18-year-old student fatally struck in the head with an ice axe in a racially motivated attack on 29 July 2005; died 30 July 2005.

    citation on file

  • Paul Morson

    CONVICTED

    Sentenced to 11 months in prison for providing a getaway car used by Barton and Taylor.

    citation on file

Places

McGoldrick Park, Huyton, Merseyside, England

53.4128, -2.8517

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Anthony Walker, an 18-year-old Black British student, was murdered in a racially motivated ice-axe attack in Huyton, Merseyside, on 29 July 2005. Michael Barton and his cousin Paul Taylor were convicted of the murder in December 2005 and given life sentences.
Where did the murder happen?
McGoldrick Park, Huyton, Merseyside, England.
Who was convicted?
Tracy Garner (Admitted assisting an offender; received an 11-month suspended sentence and 50 hours of community service.), Robert Williams (Convicted on 10 May 2006 of providing money and booking a hotel room to help Barton and Taylor flee to the Netherlands; sentenced to two years and four months.), Michael Barton (Convicted of Anthony Walker's murder on 1 December 2005; sentenced to life with a minimum term of 17 years and eight months (later reduced to 17 years); released September 2022.), Paul Taylor (Convicted of Anthony Walker's murder on 1 December 2005 after admitting the killing before trial; sentenced to life with a minimum term of 23 years and eight months.), and Paul Morson (Sentenced to 11 months in prison for providing a getaway car used by Barton and Taylor.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. Murder of Anthony Walkerwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — BBC Newsnews · BBC News · 2026-07-05
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — The Guardiannews · The Guardian · 2026-07-05

Last verified JUL 2026

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