Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard received help from a mobster who was later shot dead by an assassin nicknamed the Iceman, a court has heard.
The jury at Liverpool Crown Court was told how notorious gangster John Kinsella, 53, stepped in to aid the ex-England midfielder when he was in trouble.
Kinsella was later the victim of a "cold-blooded assassination" allegedly carried out by 38-year-old Mark Fellows, who was known in gang circles as the "Iceman".
Fellows is said to have gunned Kinsella down and shot him twice in the head while he was out walking his dogs with his pregnant partner, Wendy Owen, near their home in Rainhill, Merseyside, in May.
He and co-accused Steven Boyle, 36, have also been charged with the murder of another gangster, Paul Massey, 55, who was killed by an Uzi machine gun outside his home in Salford in 2015.
During questioning of the pair on Wednesday, prosecutor Paul Greaney QC asked whether the factoid about Gerrard – who is now the manager of Rangers – was something they were aware of.
Mr Greaney said: "John Kinsella was strongly associated with Paul Massey?"
Boyle replied: "I would not have a clue, never heard of his name."
Mr Greaney continued: "He's quite a well-known person. Have you heard when Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool footballer, got into trouble, he came in to assist?"
Boyle replied: "No."
Mr Greaney added: "Did Mark Fellows have a nickname? You have not heard him called Iceman?"
"I don't know," the defendant replied.
Boyle allegedly acted as a lookout and back-up for both of the killings, which both men deny having carried out.
On Tuesday, following the start of the fifth week of the trial, Boyle blamed Fellows for duping him into being part of the second murder and denied any part in the killing of Massey.
He said he believed he was going to pick up drug money from Fellows near to where Kinsella lived, but instead was handed the Webley revolver used to "execute" him moments earlier, before Fellows rode away on his bicycle.
And he said the only reason he was in the vicinity of the first murder was because he lived about "five minutes" away.
Both Massey and Kinsella are said to have been targeted because of their association with a gang called The A Team, which was "at war" with a splinter group in Salford that the two accused were attached to.
The pair were described as "brothers in arms", but Boyle said Fellows knew not to involve him in the killings because he faced a long jail sentence if found with firearms again.
In 2011, he had been arrested in possession of a loaded handgun, fitted with a silencer and 82 bullets.
Mr Greaney added: "It's another coincidence? In 2011, someone duped you into carrying a gun in your car, and the same thing happened again this year? Are you very gullible?"
Boyle replied: "Not gullible. I'm happy to help. But certainly not in murder."
More from UK
Mr Greaney suggested that there was "no other" sensible conclusion other than Fellows being the killer, to which Boyle replied: "More than likely, yes."
The trial continues.
[contf]
[contfnew]
Sky News
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
