Harrowing CCTV footage has emerged showing the moment a “cowardly” killer wiped blood from his nose after fatally stabbing a 19-year-old in a street brawl outside a Lancashire bar.
Thomas Dures, 21, will serve a minimum of 23 years in prison after being convicted of murdering Matthew Daulby following a trial at Preston Crown Court. The teenager was knifed in the chest by Dures after two groups clashed outside Alpine Bar in Ormskirk on 29 July 2023.
The newly released footage captures a bloodied Dures walking down Railway Road wearing a BOSS t-shirt and blue jacket shortly after delivering the fatal blow. He is seen wiping blood from his face as he walks through the town centre before disposing of evidence and fleeing the country for 18 months.
Fatal Confrontation
Matthew Daulby, from Liverpool, was found with serious injuries by police who were called to Railway Road shortly after midnight. Despite emergency efforts, he was pronounced dead at Aintree Hospital in the early hours of 30 July. A post-mortem examination confirmed he died from a single stab wound to the chest.
The court heard that Matthew had travelled to Ormskirk with friends on the evening of 29 July after receiving a message in a group chat stating that one of their friends, who was alone and on crutches, had been punched three times by Dures.
Prior to the fatal confrontation, CCTV footage played to the jury showed Dures and his associate Henry Houghton, 19, lurking in an alleyway near Alpine Bar. Shortly afterwards, Dures is seen striding towards Matthew’s group, brandishing a lock knife he had been carrying all night.
Brutal Attack Captured
During the ensuing melee, Houghton struck Matthew over the head with a makeshift weapon consisting of a rock stuffed into a sports sock. The blow caused damage to the 19-year-old’s skull and frontal lobe, likely disorienting him, though this injury was not fatal.
It was whilst Matthew was in this confused state that Dures plunged the lock knife into his chest “up to the hilt,” delivering the deadly blow. Dures also stabbed two other men during the altercation before fleeing the scene after hearing approaching police sirens.
The chilling CCTV footage shows Dures making a loop of Ormskirk town centre following the attack. Another camera captures him quickly walking along a pavement without his blue jacket, which he had discarded on a park bench in Triangle Park.
Evidence Trail
After disposing of his jacket, Dures washed blood from his face in the Railway pub before taking a taxi home and then travelling to a friend’s house around 3am. The knife was dumped in a ginnel near Ormskirk Parish Church.
Both the jacket and weapon were later found by members of the public – the jacket by a dog walker and the knife by an estate agent – and handed to police. Dures sent voice notes to friends before leaving the area, with the court hearing he apparently first learned of the serious injuries at his friend’s house.
“I didn’t believe it. I didn’t think anyone was seriously injured, because I clearly seen everyone was able to run away,” Dures told jurors from the witness box, claiming he was unaware of the gravity of his actions.
International Manhunt
Dures, of no fixed address but formerly of Whalley Drive, Aughton, fled the UK the day after the murder. Lancashire Police launched an international manhunt, with a £20,000 reward offered for information leading to his arrest – £10,000 from Crimestoppers matched by the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner’s office.
He spent 18 months on the run before eventually handing himself in at a police station in Athens, Greece, on 2 December 2024. He was arrested under an international arrest warrant and extradited back to the UK in January 2025.
His accomplice, Henry Houghton of Barrison Green, Scarisbrick, was convicted and jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years in March 2024 for his role in Matthew’s murder.
Family’s Anguish
The victim’s mother, Angela Daulby, delivered a moving impact statement at Monday’s sentencing, telling the court: “No parent should hear those words, ‘We did everything we could’. No parent should have to bury their child, it leaves you with pain I can’t even explain.”
“What I would give to hear his voice again and have one more cuddle. You broke my heart. You have given us a life sentence of grief,” she said.
Matthew’s father Gary Daulby said he was “haunted” by the memory of his son’s final moments and felt “crushed” by the emotional toll of losing him. The family had to endure two separate murder trials – first for Houghton and then for Dures after his extradition.
Judge’s Condemnation
Sentencing Dures to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years, Judge Robert Altham condemned his “cowardly” actions. The judge noted that as Angela Daulby gave her victim impact statement, he watched her son’s killer misbehaving in the dock.
Judge Altham said Dures’s decision to flee resulted in the victim’s parents having to endure two murder trials, compounding their grief. The court heard that after discarding evidence, Dures took a selfie of himself smoking a cannabis joint before fleeing the country.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows, from Lancashire Police’s Force Major Investigation Team, said: “I welcome today’s sentence which brings to an end the Daulby family’s long and arduous wait for justice. Tomorrow marks two years since Matthew was unlawfully taken from them.
Web of Lies
DCI Fallows added: “The Daulby family have had to wait patiently for the man responsible for delivering the fatal injury to answer for his crimes. They have had to figure out a way to try and grieve, knowing the man responsible for taking their son’s life was actively evading justice, and celebrating his 21st birthday in the sun. Something Matthew will never be able to do.”
“Thomas Dures came back to the UK with the intent of getting in the dock and telling a catalogue of lies. He pointed the finger of blame at everybody but himself and took no accountability for his actions,” the detective said.
The investigation involved extensive police work, with DCI Fallows thanking his team, the Crown Prosecution Service, and prosecuting counsel Peter Glenser KC and Katy Appleton. He also acknowledged the public and media for sharing witness appeals and keeping the case in the spotlight during Dures’s time on the run.
Violent Legacy
The murder has left a devastating impact on the Ormskirk community and Matthew’s loved ones. The 19-year-old had been enjoying a Friday night out with his girlfriend and friends after a family meal when his life was cut short in the senseless violence.
Dures was also found guilty of wounding with intent to another man during the same incident. The case serves as a stark reminder of the deadly consequences of knife crime, with two young men now serving lengthy prison sentences and a family left to grieve their irreplaceable loss.
The release of the CCTV footage provides a chilling insight into the callous behaviour of a killer who showed no immediate remorse, instead focusing on evading justice whilst a young man lay dying from the injuries he had inflicted.
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