9th December, 2019
Former prisoner John Anthony Crilly, who robbed Nigerian businessman Augustine Maduemezia in his Manchester home in 2005 has turned out to be one of the heroes, who subdued the London Bridge terrorist, Usman Khan.
Crilly, armed with a fire extinguisher, followed Khan to the bridge after fighting him at Fishmonger’s Hall where he had fatally stabbed Cambridge graduates, Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones. Crilly, in an act captured on CCTV, then sprayed Khan with the extinguisher, in the hope of short-circuiting the suicide vest Khan claimed he was wearing.
The ex-prisoner aimed the extinguisher on Khan’s eyes and sooner covered him in foam, allowing others including a hero with a narwhal tusk to subdue the terrorist.
Khan’s explosive vest proved to be fake, but Crilly did not know that and told the Mirror he had hoped to short-circuit the device.
‘At first, I thought throw that at him, then I thought I could spray it and soak the belt, maybe short-circuit the belt,’ Crilly said.
‘I started spraying him and it seemed to do the job. I was spraying it in his eyes. He was all covered in foam and then he came bursting through it again with the knives.’
Watch Crilly’s heroic effort courtesy Daily Mail(
After following him to the bridge, Crilly kept spraying him with the fire extinguisher. Describing the effect of his efforts, he added: ‘He [Khan] can’t see and that gives the whale guy a chance to give him a poke.’
Crilly, a former heroin addict, was originally found guilty of murdering and robbing the 71-year-old Maduemezia in his home on February 8, 2005 and jailed for life, with a minimum term of 20 years. He was sentenced in December 2005.
Crilly stole a blender and a mobile phone in the bungled burglary in which his accomplice was found to have been the killer of the Nigerian.
He spent 13 years in prison until his murder conviction was quashed following a Supreme Court ruling on joint enterprise law.
In April 2018 Crilly pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and was re-sentenced to 18 years in prison.
He was told he would serve half of the sentence in prison, but having done time since 2005 he had already completed the nine years required and was released on license.
The Supreme Court ruled that the law on joint enterprise, where defendants are prosecuted for murder even if they did not strike the fatal blow, had been misinterpreted.
One of Crilly’s friends, Michelle Feather, wrote on Facebook: ‘I honestly think your friend would be proud of you John Crilly for your actions, so many people could have died if it wasn’t for your quick thinking!! Be proud of yourself.
‘You’re a brave man John massive hugs to you!! Would have you by my side any day you deserve a medal.’
Khan was shot dead by police after stabbing two people, including Jack Merritt who had helped to rehabilitate Crilly after his release from prison.
Crilly previously wrote that Mr Merritt was ‘the best guy I ever met’, adding: ‘[Jack] was killed by a s***house of a pathetic rubber dingy rapids type terrorist.’
The quote is a reference to the 2010 film Four Lions, which mocks Islamist recruits who say life is like being in the queue at Alton Towers.
Mr Crilly added: ‘Jack actually tried helping this guy! To educate him. As he educated me.
‘Jack came all the way from Cambridge to be at my graduation… How proud am I to be called Jack Merritt’s friend.’
Crilly now has a degree in law from the Open University.
Flashback to Crilly’s attack on Maduemezia in 2005:
Augustine Maduemezia, 71, suffered severe head and facial injuries when he was attacked in his council flat in Millhead Avenue, Miles Platting, in February, according to a report by Manchester Evening News then
According to the newspaper, as Maduemezia lay dying from what was thought to have been a single killer blow, the men turned his flat upside down looking for anything of value.
The body of the father of five, was found in the living room.
His trouser pockets had been searched and pulled inside out and police said there was evidence the thieves had even gone into his loft looking for valuables.
David John Flynn, 38, Crilly’s accomplice was ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years for murder and robbery before being considered for parole.
John Anthony Crilly, 34, would serve a minimum of 20 years for the same offences.
Mr Maduemezia’s son Charles, who is a police officer, said later the verdict had strengthened the family’s faith in the justice system.
He said: “We are happy with the verdict and feel justice has prevailed. We feel it is the rightful and just outcome for the taking of an innocent life.
“Our father was a hardworking, proud, selfless man with the utmost integrity. We, as a family, are proud to say we strive to maintain these values.
“As you can imagine it has been a very traumatic and difficult year since our father’s life was taken.”
Prosecuting, Alistair Webster had told the jury the men had sought out the man’s flat, then broke in looking for cash.
While both denied the charge, Mr Justice Leveson said he thought Flynn was guilty of the killer blow, but Crilly could not escape blame because he would have known Flynn was prepared to use violence.
Flynn had a previous similar conviction from 1997, when he punched and bit a disabled and partially blind man during a robbery at his home.
Mr Justice Leveson told Flynn: “I accept that you did not mean to kill this entirely innocent 71-year-old but you were prepared to use force.”
The forensic search for clues after the attack revealed trainers belonging to Crilly contained blood from Flynn and Mr Maduemezia.
Alistair Webster QC explained that a tissue was also found by police with blood on it belonging to Crilly. He said: “He is a drug addict who uses syringes, often injecting into his groin. This sometimes causes bleeding. A means of staunching that was to dab the area with tissue. We say that was the origin of the tissue paper.”
He said police also found Flynn’s fingerprints on a plastic bag and letters and documents found at the flat.
Although Mr Maduemezia was in his seventies, he was described in court as a fit and strong man who ran his own light haulage business.
It was also revealed he relied on hearing aids, which he often took off when in his flat alone. As a result he may not have heard anything when the door to his flat was smashed in.
Mr Maduemezia body was found by a man who asked him for help moving flats and became concerned when he couldn’t get hold of him on the phone.