Latest news with #JonnySmyth
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Teen partner of John George murder suspect Jonny Smyth says he married her on the run
Only Fans model reveals they tied knot at palatial Gibraltar venue Murder suspect Jonny Smyth married his teenage partner while on the run from Spanish police, she has said. Smyth is currently being held on remand in Spain on suspicion of involvement in the killing of Belfast man John George.
Belfast Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
Cocaine thug who brought hammer to hospital ‘in case he was attacked by Muslims' celebrates freedom
The coked-up arsonist was jailed for arriving to hospital with weapon in case he was 'attacked by Muslims' An ex-soldier thug who brought a hammer to hospital while off his face on cocaine in case he was 'attacked by Muslims' has been 'nailing' pints to celebrate his release from jail. Until he was caught 'tooled-up' in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital, James Burns had been a lead protester outside business premises connected to Jonny Smyth – the man currently in jail in Spain waiting to see if he will face charges in connection with the murder of Belfast man John George.
Sunday World
21-05-2025
- Sunday World
Ex-soldier hammer thug celebrates prison release by ‘nailing' pints on Donegal trip
The coked-up arsonist was jailed for arriving to hospital with weapon in case he was 'attacked by Muslims'. Jonny Smyth, the Belfast gym owner who has vanished in the aftermath of the murder of John George in the Costa del Sol. An ex-soldier thug who brought a hammer to hospital in case he was 'attacked by Muslims' while off his face on cocaine has been 'nailing' pints and shots to celebrate his release from jail. An ex-soldier thug who brought a hammer to hospital in case he was 'attacked by Muslims' while off his face on cocaine has been 'nailing' pints and shots to celebrate his release from jail. An ex-soldier thug who brought a hammer to hospital while off his face on cocaine in case he was 'attacked by Muslims' has been 'nailing' pints to celebrate his release from jail. Until he was caught 'tooled-up' in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital, James Burns had been a lead protester outside business premises connected to Jonny Smyth – the man currently in jail in Spain waiting to see if he will face charges in connection with the murder of Belfast man John George. Nicknamed 'Flames' because of his criminal history as an arsonist, Burns (33) is back on the streets after he was released from jail last week and wasted no time 'hammering' the drinks into him. He posted a series of TikTok videos and social media photos of him downing pints of beer and shots in Donegal with the words 'few days away with the wife' alongside. The former amateur boxer – with a lengthy history of violence and more than 110 convictions – also posted a video of himself bare-chested having a play street 'fight' with a pal as bemused neighbours walked by. Though that was just a bit of messing about, messing about is not something the police are able to do when they are called to arrest him because we can reveal that Burns is flagged as being high risk by the authorities because of his propensity to use violence. Previously Burns has assaulted multiple cops who've had to go and arrest him – headbutting one. James Burns And once when he was arrested he threatened to cut off the head of his partner and leave it on her parents' doorstep if she revoked his bail address. With his former army training, the fact he was a boxer and also because he's partial to drink and drugs which previous courts have said make him even more volatile, cops have to send back-up if they want to lift him. Burns, who lives in Melrose Street in Belfast but previously with an address in Mallusk, Co Antrim, appeared in court at the end of February after he walked into the RVH with a hammer and a bag containing both Class A and Class C drugs. During police interview, he told officers the hammer was used for work he was doing to a new house and he carried it with him for 'fear of being attacked by Muslims'. What hasn't been reported is that he subsequently pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon and was sentenced on March 21 to four months in jail for the hammer and one month for the cocaine and prescription drugs. That meant he was released just last week and those who know him are waiting to see if he can stay out of trouble. 'James Burns is a ticking time bomb,' said one man who's known Burns for years. 'He can't stay out of trouble for very long – even when he tries really hard. He even went off all the booze and drugs, found God and got into the boxing but it didn't last long. 'The cops are terrified of him because he always kicks off and he's a total nightmare to handle. He's been like that for the last 15 years since he got back from Afghanistan. 'James seemingly can't be rehabilitated and it's only a matter of time before he does something violent again.' James Burns Burns has been in and out of prison for serious offending including arson, rioting and a series of domestic abuse convictions. He has told courts before how he served with the Commandos in Afghanistan and was 'significantly traumatised by the events he witnessed there'. His family have spoken out that he needed help after he returned from the war a changed person. In the last year he has posted publicly about his struggles with mental health, drink and drugs but said he had turned his life around after finding God and starting training in an east Belfast boxing gym – even winning a couple of semi-pro fights. In December he was rallying support for Belfast man John George, who was murdered in Spain. Burns promoted controversial protests outside business premises in north Belfast which had been targeted by supporters of the campaign to find Mr George, whose body at that stage had not been found. Two years ago Burns was convicted of breaching a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner after he called her on the phone. In January 2023, a police officer told Ballymena Magistrates Court: 'The victim has been deemed at high risk from the defendant and he has been flagged as a serial perpetrator of domestic violence.' The restraining order was imposed after Burns set fire to two cars owned by his ex and her mother. He phoned his former partner in February 2021 threatening her if she got him sent back to prison, warning he would 'burn her out'. Later that night she looked out and saw Burns approach her Seat Ibiza. James Burns 'He paused at the rear wheel, threw something using both hands and the vehicle immediately ignited,' a Crown lawyer said, adding that firefighters went to the scene but the car was gutted. Minutes later he arrived at the home of the ex-partner's mother in Greenisland and set fire to her Hyundai i10. Burns admitted arson, threats to damage property, breaching a non-molestation order and criminal damage to an electronic tag. In 2015 Burns was jailed for St Patrick's Day attacks on police and smashing his mother's car. The thug head-butted one of five officers it took to restrain him after they were called to his family home in Newtownabbey. He was sentenced to four months in prison after admitting charges of criminal damage, two counts of assault on police, and resisting arrest. Belfast Magistrates Court heard a neighbour phoned 999 claiming Burns was 'going mental', smashing windows on the Jeep Cherokee and fighting with relatives in the street. A prosecutor said officers who went to his address requested back-up because of the defendant's reputation for aggression towards police. The court heard Burns was initially calm at the scene but then stated: 'I'm going to kill each and every one of you.' As police tried to handcuff him he started struggling and then head-butted one officer in the face. According to the prosecution lawyer, Burns spat at another officer and kicked him on the leg. 'It took five police officers to restrain him as he was kicking out and struggling on the ground,' he added. And in 2012 Burns damaged nine vans and a lorry at a dealership after rowing with his girlfriend. The then 20-year-old, who joined the army straight out of school, was ordered to serve 200 hours' community service after he caused an estimated £2,700 worth of damage in the attack. He pleaded guilty to smashing windows, breaking wing mirrors and denting panels on vehicles at the Mercedes-Benz depot in Mallusk. In 2017 Burns was part of a loyalist mob that rioted in north Belfast after an Orange Order march was banned from passing Ardoyne shops. He claimed to police he had psychotic breakdown and felt he was fighting the Taliban during the riot but a judge jailed him for three years. He was spotted sometimes wearing a balaclava and sometimes not – chucking bricks and bottles at police lines and at one stage torched a bin. He shouted at the judge the sentence was a ''f***ing disgrace' and said 'give that 18 months to Tony Blair'.
Belfast Telegraph
24-04-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
Spanish police issue update in John George murder case as they reveal main suspect ‘left in a hurry'
Officers announced they have completed their investigation into his murder. Civil Guard officers have also appeared to rule out further arrests after revealing the evidence they have points to the two suspects being with the 37-year-old victim around the last time he spoke with his dad. Suspected killer Jonny Smyth was extradited to Spain earlier this month after being arrested at an Airbnb in Braga in northern Portugal on March 25. The first man arrested, a Czech national named locally as Michal Maly, is on bail but still being investigated as an alleged accomplice. Detectives had been tight-lipped about their probe, confirming only the two arrests and the discovery of the father-of-two's body in Rojales near Torrevieja on Spain's Costa Blanca on January 7. Today they released new video of property searches they conducted as part of their investigation and footage from the spot in an orchard where the victim's body was found as they made their first detailed comments about the case. They also said the main suspect left Spain 'in a hurry' with his girlfriend, abandoning his pets, 'to evade capture' after Billy George reported his son missing. A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Alicante said: 'The Civil Guard has completed its investigation into the disappearance of a young Irish man in December last year following the arrest in Braga in Portugal in April and the subsequent extradition of the alleged material author of that man's homicide. 'The victim's body was found around two weeks after his father reported him missing and thought was in Benidorm visiting friends. 'Investigators found the body in Rojales near Torrevieja after an intense search of the area sparked by the fact they suspected the man's disappearance was involuntary and believed the crime linked to it could have been committed there. 'Before the discovery officers had already managed to identify the two suspects. One of them was arrested the same day the body was found.' Inside luxury apartment where NI suspect hid out before arrest over the murder of John George Saying the police investigation began on December 21 when Mr George reported his son missing after flying to Spain to look for him, the force spokesman added: 'Officers began a reconstruction of what could have happened from the moment the victim vanished after reaching Spain on December 6. 'They located people who had been in contact with him from that day and spoke to witnesses. 'The evidence they gathered pointed to the man found dead being with the two people who became the principal suspects around the time he last contacted his father. 'The first arrest occurred a couple of hours after the body was found, that of a Czech national aged 32 based in Torrevieja who is suspected of being an accomplice and is currently on bail. 'The Civil Guard continued after that with its work of locating the other suspect, the man believed to be the killer, who according to information gathered by investigators allegedly fled Spain after the homicide and following the reporting of his disappearance to police. 'He left the country in a hurry with his girlfriend, even abandoning his two pet dogs at his home in Orihuela on the Costa Blanca as he sought to evade capture. 'The Civil Guard requested the issue of a European Arrest Warrant for him and the cooperation of other police forces through Interpol and he was located in Portugal on March 25 and extradited to Spain on April 3.' Although Spanish police did not formally name Smyth in a lengthy statement officers have described him as someone with 'previous in his country of origin.' It was not immediately clear if they were referring to him having a criminal record with convictions, or as being someone known to police because of previous arrests. He has been remanded in custody pending an ongoing investigation led by a judge in Torrevieja. The Civil Guard said: 'The autopsy has revealed death occurred the night of December 14 from gunshot wounds, the same day the victim spoke with his father for the last time and a week before the dad reported him missing." The video footage the police force released showed police removing tin foil wrapped-packages from an air conditioning vent during a property search. It was not immediately clear which of the two suspects' properties were being searched in the footage. The defence lawyer of the man described as an alleged accomplice, the first individual arrested, has attributed the decision to detain his client to his 'recent friendship' with Smyth.
Sunday World
24-04-2025
- Sunday World
Spanish cops complete investigation into John George gun murder
Civil Guard officers have also appeared to rule out further arrests SPANISH police have confirmed Belfast man John George was shot dead on December 14 and announced they have completed their investigation into his murder. Civil Guard officers have also appeared to rule out further arrests after revealing the evidence they have points to the two suspects being with the 37-year-old victim around the last time he spoke with his dad. Suspected killer Jonny Smyth was extradited to Spain earlier this month after being arrested at an Airbnb in Braga in northern Portugal on March 25. John George and Jonny Smyth The first man arrested, a Czech national who has not been officially named, is on bail but still being investigated as an alleged accomplice. Detectives had been tight-lipped about their probe, confirming only the two arrests and the discovery of dad-of-two John's body in Rojales near Torrevieja on Spain's Costa Blanca on January 7. Today they released new video of property searches they conducted as part of their investigation and footage from the spot in an orchard where the victim's body was found as they made their first detailed comments about the case. They also said the main suspect abandoned his two pet dogs when he left Spain 'in a hurry' with his girlfriend 'to evade capture' after John's dad Billy reported him missing. A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Alicante said: 'The Civil Guard has completed its investigation into the disappearance of a young Irish man in December last year following the arrest in Braga in Portugal in April and the subsequent extradition of the alleged material author of that man's homicide. Jonny Smyth 'The victim's body was found around two weeks after his father reported him missing and thought he was in Benidorm visiting friends. 'Investigators found the body in Rojales near Torrevieja after an intense search of the area sparked by the fact they suspected the man's disappearance was involuntary and believed the crime linked to it could have been committed there. 'Before the discovery officers had already managed to identify the two suspects. One of them was arrested the same day the body was found.' Saying the police investigation began on December 21 when Mr George reported his son missing after flying to Spain from Northern Ireland to look for him, the force spokesman added: 'Officers began a reconstruction of what could have happened from the moment the victim vanished after reaching Spain on December 6. 'They located people who had been in contact with him from that day and spoke to witnesses. 'The evidence they gathered pointed to the man found dead being with the two people who became the principal suspects around the time he last contacted his father. 'The first arrest occurred a couple of hours after the body was found, that of a Czech national aged 32 based in Torrevieja who is suspected of being an accomplice and is currently on bail. 'The Civil Guard continued after that with its work of locating the other suspect, the man believed to be the killer, who according to information gathered by investigators allegedly fled Spain after the homicide and following the reporting of his disappearance to police. 'He left the country in a hurry with his girlfriend, even abandoning his two pet dogs at his home in Orihuela on the Costa Blanca as he sought to evade capture. 'The Civil Guard requested the issue of a European Arrest Warrant for him and the cooperation of other police forces through Interpol and he was located in Portugal on March 25 and extradited to Spain on April 3.' Family members of John George return to Belfast airport after they were involved in the search operation for John. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire Although Spanish police did not formally name Smyth in a lengthy statement officers have described him as someone with 'previous in his country of origin.' It was not immediately clear if they were referring to him having a criminal record with convictions, or as being someone known to police because of previous arrests. He has been remanded in custody pending an ongoing investigation led by a judge in Torrevieja. The Civil Guard said: 'The autopsy has revealed death occurred the night of December 14 from gunshot wounds, the same day the victim spoke with his father for the last time and a week before the dad reported him missing." The video footage the police force released showed police removing tin foil wrapped-packages from an air conditioning vent during a property search. It was not immediately clear which of the two suspects' properties were being searched in the footage. The defence lawyer of the man described as an alleged accomplice, the first individual arrested, has attributed the decision to detain his client to his 'recent friendship' with Smyth.
