Three admit chasing man to his death in river

Three men have admitted manslaughter after chasing a man into a river where he subsequently drowned.

Conor Kinlan, 32, was found in the River Nene near Town Bridge in Peterborough on 24 January.

Jordanas Prismontas, 18, of Fulbridge Road in Peterborough, Cole Mackaness, 19, of Baden Powell Way in Wellingborough (Northamptonshire) and Thomas McShane, 20, of Collier Mews, Peterborough, pleaded guilty at Cambridge Crown Court.

Their convictions can only now be revealed after the judge lifted reporting restrictions. The three men are due to be sentenced on 15 October.

Cambridgeshire Police said the trio assaulted and threatened Kinlan with a knife near the River Nene on 23 January after accusing him of stealing from them.

His body was recovered about 15 hours later by a specialist police dive team.

Police said the incident was linked to the "Felix" drug line, which had been operating in the area.

Det Ch Insp Rich Stott, of the Beds, Cambs and Herts Major Crime Unit, said: "All three defendants were equally responsible when they chased him to his death that day.

"They were all jointly in possession of weapons used to threaten him and had Conor not been forced into the river I have no doubt they would have used them."

Prismontas and Mackaness pleaded guilty on 14 May, while McShane pleaded guilty on 24 June.

Separately, a 62-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman, both from Peterborough, are due to stand trial at Cambridge Crown Court from 3 August, charged with assisting an offender. The man is also charged with two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

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