Gangster’s moll who helped gang torture her ex-husband to death is set to lose the house she shared with him
A gangster’s moll who helped thugs torture her ex-husband to death is set to lose the home she once shared with him after paying for extensions with dirty money.
Coleen Campbell, 38, was convicted of manslaughter after plotting to have her former partner Thomas Campbell robbed of cash and drugs.
Thomas, also 38, was ambushed and attacked by three men as he unlocked his front door in Mossley, Greater Manchester, on July 2 last year.
The convicted drug dealer suffered horrendous injuries and was found dead at the house the next day.
One of the three attackers, convicted armed robber Reece Steven, 29, of Middleton, was found guilty of murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 37 years.
Coleen Campbell, 38, was convicted of manslaughter after plotting to have her former partner Thomas Campbell robbed of cash and drugs in his own home
Coleen and Thomas Campbell on holiday. Police used the pictures as evidence of their lavish lifestyle
Coleen was caught on a CCTV camera plotting the attack at her home
Coleen provided key information about her ex-husband to John Belfield, the alleged mastermind of the killing, who prosecutors claim was one of the three men who attacked Thomas.
He was not in the dock but has since been arrested in South America on suspicion of drug offences.
Before Thomas was murdered, he and Coleen appeared in court alongside each other and admitted money laundering.
Thousands of pounds had been spent on improvements at the family home they shared with their two children in Clayton, east Manchester, while the couple also enjoyed luxury holidays and the use of high-powered cars.
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There had been a double-storey extension installed at the property, and they spent a fortune on designer clothes and jewellery.
But it was discovered that it had been paid for with dirty money.
At the time Coleen was working part-time in Matalan and received working tax credits, while Thomas abruptly declared himself a self-employed fitness instructor.
The pair both pleaded guilty to money laundering and at Manchester Crown Court in 2019.
Thomas was jailed for two years and Coleen handed a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Prosecutors then launched an investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act in a bid to claw back some of the couple’s ill-gotten gains.
The probe has rumbled on for years, and took a back seat when Thomas was murdered.
Now, following a hearing at the same court yesterday, the case has been settled with Coleen, now 39, being ordered to hand over £76,500 within three months.
If she fails to pay in that period, she could have another nine months added to the 13 year prison sentence she is currently serving.
Coleen used dirty money to pay for improvements to her home, which she is now set to lose
Campbell was followed after a tracker was placed on his van while he was picking up his daughter from school
Police outside Thomas Campbell’s home in Mossley, Greater Manchester, in July last year
Prosecutor Henry Blackshaw said the sum would be paid from her equity in the home, which is set to be sold off.
Coleen, wearing a black jumper with her black hair tied in a bun, appeared in court via video link from HMP Drake Hall, a women’s prison in Staffordshire.
The home was a key location in Thomas’s murder trial, which was held at Bolton Crown Court and concluded in February.
Just hours before her husband was ambushed, Coleen was caught on CCTV on her driveway talking on the phone with Belfield.
At the trial, prosecutors alleged that Coleen had turned on her ex-husband and formed an ‘alliance’ with alleged ‘rival drug dealer’ Belfield.
Coleen had split with Thomas, who was in a new relationship with Belfield’s ex-girlfriend.
It was alleged that Belfield had plotted to rob Campbell after reading a Manchester Evening News article about his money laundering conviction which detailed the couple’s ‘wealthy lifestyle’, and that he was motivated by ‘hostility’ towards him.
As Thomas Campbell, 38, opened his front door in Mossley, Greater Manchester, he was ambushed and attacked by three men at around 11pm
Campbell pictured on holiday. The group had plotted to rob him of cash, drugs and valuables
Coleen went on trial alongside Reece Steven, 29, and Stephen Cleworth, 38.
Steven was one of the three attackers, while Cleworth was involved in the planning and preparations for the robbery.
Coleen insisted that she did not want her ex-husband dead, and was ‘disgusted’ by what her former spouse had been subjected to.
She would forever regret unwittingly helping her ex-husband’s killers and had been used by Belfield, the court was told.
She maintained she only passed on information to Belfield about her ex to help him discover whether his ex-girlfriend was in a relationship with Thomas.
Coleen was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.
Coleen provided key information about her ex-husband to John Belfield, the alleged mastermind of the killing
Thomas Campbell, who played an ‘integral’ part in an organised crime gang, was dragged around his home and viciously attacked for two hours. He’s seen with Coleen
Steven was found guilty of murder, while Cleworth was convicted of manslaughter. Steven was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 37 years.
Cleworth, of Heywood, was also handed a life sentence, with a minimum term of 12 years.
Belfield was not in the dock during the trial, but was named and was alleged to have been the mastermind of the killing.
Following the conclusion of the case it was revealed that Belfield had been arrested in Suriname, a small country on the north eastern coast of South America, which borders Guyana and Brazil.
He was held on suspicion of drugs offences. Greater Manchester Police said he is wanted in connection with Thomas’s death and that officers are working on bringing him back to the UK.
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