Two Men Sentenced Over The Brutal Murder Of An Uber Driver In Rochdale, Greater Manchester
Two violent drunks have been sentenced at Manchester Crown Court over the savage killing of an Uber driver in Rochdale last year. The pair violently attacked Ali Asghar after he asked them to stop eating in his taxi.
Conor McPartland, 20, and Martin Treacy, 18, have both been jailed for life after being found guilty of the murder of "dearly loved" taxi driver Ali Asghar.
Mr Asghar was brutally beaten after telling a drunken man that he was not allowed to eat takeaway food in his car. After the horrific beating, the brother of Mr Asghar said that he couldn't recognise him due to how severely injured he was.
Mr Asghar was described by friends as a "true gentleman".
He picked up McPartland and Treacy in Oldham town centre before driving them to Rochdale where they had planned to meet some girls and go to a Halloween party. Treacy had started eating a chicken burger and chips in the back of Mr Asghar's new Mercedes.
Manchester Crown Court heard how Mr Asghar had stopped the car on Queensway after Treacy refused to stop eating.
The two drunken men then savagely attacked the Uber driver, punching and kicking him in the head.
Mr Asghar was pushed over, hitting his head on the wheel of his own vehicle, he died two weeks later. The judge said that Mr Asghar was "in no way to blame."
McPartland had made a spelling error on the Uber app which resulted in a mix-up about where the two men wanted to be taken during this fateful journey in the early hours of October 30, 2021.
Judge Alan Conrad QC said to the killers: Ali Asghar was 39-years-old when he had the misfortune to meet you two, a pair of drunken and entitled louts,
"He was a hardworking and decent man, carrying out a valuable public service to provide for his family. By your drunken violence over the period of a few minutes you have ruined your lives, but that is nothing in comparison with the damage you have done to others by your savage and brutal behaviour."
Ashar Ali, the brother of Mr Asghar said his sibling's face was "unrecognisable" when he saw him in the hospital, saying that he only realised it was his brother on a stretcher after noticing his shoes.
Mr Ali described to the court the total devastation that the death of his brother had caused to his family in the UK and in their native Pakistan. Mr Ali said that he lied to his mother at first as he couldn't bear to tell her the horrific way her son had died.
Mr Ali took weeks to tell his mother what had happened, saying that when his body was flown to Pakistan, a "huge part" of their mother died with her son, he said.
Mr Ali addressed his brother's killers in court, saying: "How could anybody do this to an innocent person for something that was a mistake made by the attackers themselves? He sustained so many injuries as a result of the attack and then they left him there to die like his life had no meaning at all.
"I am totally broken and will never be able to get those images and thoughts out of my head. My family and I want justice for Ali's untimely death, we miss him beyond comprehension.
"He was our family's hope, support, and we want to know why those responsible who didn't even know him, murdered him for no reason whatsoever."
Treacy and McPartland, who both had no previous criminal convictions, will be in their 30s when they are considered for release. McPartland will serve a minimum of 14-and-a-half years, and Treacy a minimum of 13-and-a-half years.
McPartland, of Hollins Road, Oldham, and Treacy, of Gawsworth Close, Oldham, were both found guilty of murder after the trial at Manchester Crown Court.
The judge said that he accepted that neither McPartland nor Treacy intended to kill Mr Asghar and that the attack was not premeditated. He said he also took their age into account when passing sentence.
After the trial, Phil Reade, of GMPs Public Protection and Serious Crime Division, said: "The senseless actions of Treacy and McPartland that morning were utterly despicable and led to a family losing a much-loved son and brother.
"These two men are clearly violent individuals and I am relieved that they are now off our streets and have time to think about their actions and the hurt and sorrow they have caused."
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