Shane O'Brien: 'Most wanted' fugitive and suspect in Josh Hanson killing returns to UK

Shane O'Brien after his arrest in Romania in March
Reuters
James Morris5 April 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Shane O'Brien, who was one of Britain's most wanted fugitives, has returned to the country.

O'Brien, 31, arrived at Heathrow Airport at 7.30pm on Friday and is now in custody at a police station in London.

O'Brien is suspected of murdering 21-year-old Josh Hanson in west London in October 2015. Mr Hanson was stabbed to death in a bar in Eastcote, Hillingdon.

O'Brien was subject to a European Arrest Warrant and was arrested in Romania last month.

He is thought to have left the UK shortly after Mr Hanson's death, flying on a private jet from Biggin Hill Airport in south-east London and landing in Germany.

It is believed he spent time in the Netherlands, Dubai and at least seven months in Prague.

Josh Hanson, 21, was knifed to death.

Police photos showed how he had changed his appearance, having longer hair and a beard, with a new large tattoo of an owl holding a skull that covers a large portion of his back.

It covered a distinctive tattoo he had previously, which read "Shannon 15-04-06".

Mr Hanson's mother, who has long campaigned for help tracking down O'Brien, thanked lead investigator Det Ch Insp Noel McHugh in the wake of the arrest.

She said on Twitter: "Today on the 23rd of March 2019 and after 3 and a half years of waiting today is Josh's day."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in