Three people sentenced for perverting the course of justice after St Helens stabbing
A coordinated plot to mislead police following an attack in Parr has unravelled in court
Last updated 11 hours ago
Three people have been sentenced for perverting the course of justice after plotting to mislead police following a stabbing in St Helens nearly five years ago.
Merseyside Police said they received reports on Tuesday 23rd November 2021 that a man in his 30s had been attacked by four men at a property on Sunners Green Close in Parr.
An investigation was launched following the stabbing, during which several people were identified as suspects, the force said.
Witness intimidation claims
As enquiries progressed, police said they received multiple reports of witness intimidation and threatening phone calls made to the victim, Walid Gbeira, and people connected to him.
As a result of those reports, a man was charged with witness intimidation and remanded in custody, spending 63 days in prison, according to the force.
However, police said the proceedings were later discontinued after telecommunications analysis showed significant inconsistencies in the allegations, indicating the reports were false.
Investigation into a plot
Those findings led investigators to suspect that false reports had been submitted in an attempt to influence the direction of the investigation, prompting a separate inquiry into conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
In August 2022, search warrants were carried out at the addresses of Walid Gbeira and of Nicole McMenamy, whose home the stabbing was reported to have taken place in, police said.
Forensic examination of mobile phones uncovered extensive digital evidence, including call records, messages, videos and covert recordings, according to the force.
Investigators said they identified evidence of a coordinated effort to mislead police, fabricate allegations, falsely implicate people in criminal offences and interfere with the course of justice.
Sentencing
Walid Gbeira, Nicole McMenamy and McMenamy's friend Caitlyn Waring were charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice as a result of the investigation.
39-year-old Gbeira, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty on the first day of trial in June 2026.
He was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday 23rd October to three years in prison.
McMenamy and Waring pleaded guilty before trial.
27-year-old McMenamy, of Baltimore Drive in St Helens, was sentenced to two years and five months in prison.
26-year-old Caitlyn Louise Waring, of Linear View in Newton-le-Willows, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.
Police said no further action was taken in relation to the original stabbing investigation, after prosecutors determined there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction due to significant concerns over the reliability and credibility of key witnesses Gbeira and McMenamy.
Police reaction
Detective Chief Inspector Lisa McNaughton said: "Cleary Gbeira and McMenamy thought they would be able to spin a web of lies in an attempt to pervert the course of the investigation and implicate who they wanted.
"It is only thanks to the hard work and determination of the investigation team that we were able to unpick their lies and successfully convict them and put them behind bars."