Killers given life sentences after man shot dead in his home
Three men have been jailed for a total of at least 86 years after an innocent man was shot in his own home.
Operation Hamnett was launched by Durham Constabulary after Barry Dawson was shot dead through the window of his own home in South Moor on the afternoon of April 5 this year (2025).
During the investigation, detectives uncovered significant digital and forensic evidence resulting in them catching the killers in nine days.
Sean Reay, 30, was seeking retribution after he received threats to burn his house down earlier that day.
Reay, together with his friends Kelvin Lawson, 28, and Thomas Sterling, 22, planned to shoot a man who had connections with an address in Elm Street – but Mr Dawson was not the intended target.
The trio were found guilty of murder in November following a hearing at Teesside Crown Court. The killers returned to the same court yesterday (December 11) where they were sentenced to life in prison.
Reay will serve a minimum of 32 years, Lawson a minimum of 28 years and Sterling a minimum of 26 years.
The fatal shooting occurred on the afternoon of April 5 when Reay fired a gun through the living room window of the address.
Mr Dawson, who had gone to investigate the sound of breaking glass, suffered a single gunshot wound and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
The three men fled in a white Seat Arona, which was later found burnt out in the Oxhill area. What followed saw a team of detectives recover and scour more than 800 hours of CCTV footage and mobile phone data to piece together what had happened that day.
Footage from a CCTV camera in Elm Street captured Lawson and Sterling smashing the front window of the property in front of members of the public and young children before they retreated into the alleyway nearby. It is believed to have been an attempt to lure the intended victim out of the house.
Two occupants emerged but soon ran back into the house after confronting the men in the alleyway.
The men emerged from the alleyway into the street again where Reay was seen threatening a resident in the street with a gun.
The men fled down an alleyway and left in the Seat Arona parked behind Elm Street. Using CCTV, detectives were able to piece together the route the car took, which was eventually parked up behind what is known locally as The New Demi Club, in Annfield Plain.
Reay, Lawson, and Sterling, together with Kevin Dorward, 38, Keith Dorward, 48, and Michaela Hetherington, 36, spent the evening in and out the club. Kevin Dorward told his cousin Keith Dorward to take the car and set fire to it and Hetherington rang the police to say the vehicle had been stolen.
Keith Dorward abandoned the car in the Oxhill area and tried to set fire to it, however there was only smoke damage, so it was easy to identify who it belonged to.
The casing from the bullet which was found on the ground in Elm Street also provided key DNA evidence of Lawson.
The bullet was also recovered from a sofa in the living room.
The gun – an automatic handgun – used in the incident has never been found. With little over 24 hours since the murder, officers arrested Kevin Dorward and Hetherington in connection with the incident.
Less than 48 hours later Sterling was arrested and in the days that followed Keith Dorward handed himself in. Kelvin Lawson and Reay were arrested during warrants carried out by armed officers.
While Lawson was arrested in County Durham, Reay had fled the area and was located in Northern Ireland.
The investigation saw hundreds of hours of CCTV examined, mobile phone data analysed, and information from social media gathered. This evidence allowed detectives to quickly take the case to the Crown Prosecution Service and within nine days all six suspects had been charged and remanded.
Kevin Dorward, Keith Dorward and Michaela Hetherington were also handed custodial sentences after previously admitting perverting the course of justice – Kevin Dorward received 20 months, Keith Dorward received 16 months and Hetherington received 15 months.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Fuller, Senior Investigating Officer for Operation Hamnett at Durham Constabulary, said: “I hope this investigation sends out a clear message to criminals that we will not allow such extreme violence on our streets.
“There is no place for guns on our streets, and we take a zero-tolerance approach in tackling and bringing to justice those who choose to carry such weapons.
“The forensics and digital evidence played a fundamental role in bringing these people to justice.
“This was a significant investigation for Durham Constabulary which utilised officers from across the force to meet the various demands and challenges it posed of us.
“I am extremely proud of all our hard work, this was a real team effort, which has ultimately brought these people to justice and made County Durham and Darlington a safer place to live.
“Barry Dawson needlessly lost his life that afternoon because of the despicable actions of these three men. My thoughts remain with those who loved him.”