'I'll never forget the day evil killed my son'

Mikey Rainsford was in his family home in Litherland, Merseyside, gathering snacks to take to his girlfriend's house, when a bullet smashed through the kitchen window from outside.

The 20-year-old was hit in the back and managed to stagger a few steps before a second shot followed, striking him in the heart.

Five years on, his father Michael Rainsford Snr said it was impossible to move on from the day his son was shot dead in front of his eyes.

Not least because in the months after his murder, the family received death threats and taunts on social media that forced them our of their home.

But most upsettingly for the family, they are convinced that Mikey's murder could have been prevented.

"It's just something that traps you in time," he told the BBC.

"You know, your memories go down a conveyor belt.

"You just can't move on and you try your best. You do limp on, but life is never, ever the same."

Mr Rainsford believes one of Mikey's killers, local gang member James Foy, should have been charged with a firearms offence relating to a gun discovered in a kitchen drawer in Bootle, Sefton, months before the murder.

Foy was eventually convicted of possessing that weapon at the same time he was found guilty of Mikey's murder, based on evidence Mr Rainsford believes was already available.

Merseyside Police said it did not have the necessary forensic evidence to charge Foy in the months before Mikey's death and a "number of lines of inquiry" were still being pursued at the time of the shooting on 7 April 2020.

Mr Rainsford still strongly disputes the police position after the force concluded "further forensic results linking Foy to the firearm were not available until after Michael's death".

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) upheld some of his complaints and asked the force to re-investigate whether it had been right to conclude that there was no missed opportunity to arrest Foy in March 2020.

It also asked the force to carry out further investigations into allegations it misled the coroner during an inquest into Mikey's death.

An IOPC spokesman said it was now in the process of reviewing the force's renewed investigations into how it responded to Mr Rainsford's original complaint.

For Mr Rainsford, "evil" visited the family home shortly after 23:00 BST that night.

He told how he had stepped into the kitchen to ask Mikey, who was planning to stay over at his girlfriend's home nearby, to hurry up as he wanted to go to sleep and was getting impatient.

"I never got that sentence out", he said.

"About 5ft (1.5m) away from me these two bullets just came roaring through the window. It's a sound I've never heard - the smell and noise - everything you know.

"Looking back, it just sends you into a state of shock."

Before anyone realised what had happened, Mikey had collapsed in the hallway as his parents and younger brother Joshua held him.

When they lifted his t-shirt, they realised he had a bullet wound to the chest.

Mr Rainsford said: "He looked terrified, as we all were.

"I was screaming down the phone at the police as loud as I could 'just please hurry up, please hurry up'."

But nothing anyone could do would have saved Mikey from those injuries, and he lost consciousness before help arrived.

Mr Rainsford described his son as blossoming from a "very shy" kid into a popular teenager, with a serious talent for skateboarding and photography.

"Traumatic grief is difficult to express," he said.

"Having someone who you love, who is in your life everyday, in a heartbeat violently ripped away forever in front of you, is something I will never come to terms with.

"Also, what was taken away from Mikey, all the future dreams he had, all of his tomorrows ripped away by evil just so senseless, I ache every day for my son."

It later emerged Mikey had been killed in what was essentially a case of mistaken identity.

That night, James Foy and his brother Michael had been on the hunt for someone they believed was responsible for throwing bricks through the window of their mother's house in Rossini Street, Seaforth.

The two were heavily involved in organised crime and were described in court as being members of the local Linacre Young Guns (LYG) gang.

Mikey happened to live in an area considered the turf of their rivals - another gang known locally as the Kirkstone Riot Squad (KRS).

Mikey, a "skater kid" who had no involvement in gangs whatsoever, was not responsible for throwing those bricks and had no links to the KYS or the LYG.

But for reasons that are unclear, after seeming to scope out another nearby property, the Foy brothers settled on the Rainsford home and fired shots through the kitchen window, which was not covered by a blind or curtains.

Forensic work concluded James Foy had changed position after firing the first shot at Mikey and re-aimed to shoot him a second time as he moved through the kitchen.

After spending weeks denying any involvement, Foy finally confessed that he had pulled the trigger after he was found guilty by a jury.

Despite the widespread support of the community in the months after the shooting, there were some who remained on the side of the Foy brothers.

Mr Rainsford said he and his family had wanted to stay in their "forever home" on Harrington Road, but a combination of trauma and anonymous social media threats forced them out.

He said: "I don't know whether it was trolls, but they seemed to have information that hadn't been released in the news."

Some of the threats suggested Mikey's younger brother Joshua would also be shot for being a "grass" - an accusation stemming from the fact he had simply called 999 while his brother was dying.

Some messages also threatened harm to Mikey's mother, while others showed a crude cartoon image of a dog defecating on Mikey's grave.

Those threats were investigated by Merseyside Police but Mr Rainsford said the devices used to send them could not be traced.

"It just shows the depravity of some people," Mr Rainsford said.

He said they agonised over the decision of whether to stay, but ultimately decided to move out for their mental health and safety.

"This was our forever home for 13 years, lovely big back garden, we made a million memories," Mr Rainsford said.

"Snowmen, trampolines, swimming pools, parties, you know, and this one isolated incident where evil visited our home changed everything.

"Even though we've moved to a nicer place - it's a lot nicer - we don't belong here, you know, it's not our home."

Det Ch Supt Sabi Kaur, head of Merseyside Police's Professional Standards Department, said: "We have apologised to Mr Rainsford for any confusion in our previous correspondence with him and have identified some learning opportunities for our staff relating to aspects of the investigation conducted after 7 April.

"Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Michael's family as they continue to grieve following his tragic murder."

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