A WOMAN who tried to cover up the murder of a man in Athersley in June has escaped a jail sentence.
Julie Evans, 41, of Monsal Crescent, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender on December 8 and was handed a 12-month community order and 30 days of rehabilitation when she appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday.
Her boyfriend, 38-year-old Martin Wilson, was found guilty of stabbing Stephen Riley and received a life sentence - to serve a minimum of 25 years - last Thursday.
Emergency services were alerted to Stephen’s injuries after he had banged on a window on Darley Avenue, asking for help and ‘crying out’ that he had been stabbed.
Stephen, who had been stabbed twice, was taken to Barnsley Hospital but died of his injuries shortly after at 12.04am on June 27.
Records show that Wilson called Evans who met him close by before they both went to dispose of the murder weapon.
Police detained Wilson on June 28 on suspicion of murder and his accomplice, Evans, was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender - they were both quickly charged as detectives disproved their account.
DCI Jude Ashmore said: “Through piecing together witness accounts and CCTV footage, we were able to quickly determine that the accounts Evans and Wilson had put forward were completely false.
“My thoughts now remain with Stephen’s family, who I hope can find some closure in the verdict.”
