The two men convicted of murder in a York bedsit also subjected two other victims to “overwhelming violence”.
As we reported earlier, Jobie Tyers, 28, and Michael Mulvana, 32, were today sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 26-year-old Indrit Mustafaj from Bradford.
Two other victims, who we’re not naming, also suffered shocking injuries at the hands of Tyers and Mulvana.
It happened when Mulvana and Tyers burst into the bedsit in Vyner Street, near Haxby Road, and attacked all three inside on 23 November 2024.
Mr Mustafaj, from Bradford, suffered a fatal stab wound to a major artery in his leg and bled to death.
The named female tenant and her male friend were also stabbed and suffered serious injuries.
The court heard that the masked robbers’ intention had been to rob Mr Mustafaj of drugs or cash but the horrific violence that ensued, involving a machete and a crowbar, led to fatal knife wounds.
After a jury found them both guilty of murder earlier this week, Tyers and Mulvana appeared for sentence today (Friday) via prison video link after being remanded in custody.
Judge Andrew Stubbs KC said: “This was, in my assessment, a murder done for gain.”
He told the convicted murderers: “It was around 7.10pm when CCTV captured you walking towards the address in Vyner Street with your heads and faces covered and one of you carrying a crowbar.
“When you burst through the door, the occupants were subjected to an overwhelming show of violence.”
The other male victim “was hit so hard with the crowbar that it shattered his tibia and effectively took him out of any resistance that might follow”.
The woman “was beaten with the crowbar as she put her arm up to protect herself.
“Then attention turned to Mr Mustafaj who had been lying on the bed. Such was the ferocity and speed of the attack that he did not even have time to end the phone call he was engaged in.”
Mr Stubbs said it was clear that the flat in York had become known as a “base for dealing Class A drugs”.
Mr Mustafaj had been travelling from Bradford to York for at least eight days prior to the murder “and had based himself in the flat,” added Mr Stubbs.
He said it was evident that drugs would be taken to people out in the street by the female tenant and the other named man after Mr Mustafaj had received a phone call.
The judge said it was clear that it was Mulvana who had hatched the plan to rob Mr Mustafaj, but that Tyers was a “willing recruit”.
He noted how evidence presented during the trial showed that, in the moments prior to the fatal attack, Mulvana and Tyers were sitting in a car in Vyner Street “watching” the comings and goings of people from the flat and “waiting to strike”.
“Even when [the female tenant approached] you in the car and thought you were undercover officers, you simply bided your time until you were ready,” added Mr Stubbs.
He noted the terrifying speed and ferocity of the attack after the masked pair burst through the door to the flat, first striking the other male victim on the leg with a crowbar which “shattered” his shinbone.
The female tenant was then beaten with the crowbar, before the intruders turned their attention to Mr Mustafaj, who was on the phone when he was attacked and ended up “cowering in the front of that small bedroom”.
“He was slashed and stabbed repeatedly,” said Mr Stubbs.
“He was stabbed with a machete that had been lying on the bed. There is no evidence he tried to use that weapon himself.
“Mr Mustafaj’s femoral artery was severed and he was to quickly bleed to death.”
A next-door neighbour heard the female tenant shouting, “Stop! You’re going to kill him,” as Mr Mustafaj, known as ‘Mustang’, was stabbed repeatedly.
He suffered eight stab wounds including defensive wounds to his hand and arm as he tried in vain to protect himself. One of his fingertips was “almost severed off”.
As well as the fatal stab wound to his right thigh, Mr Mustafaj suffered two knife wounds to his other thigh and a knife wound to the back of his knee.
The other male victim was taken to hospital after suffering a broken thigh bone and stab wounds to his buttocks.
The murderers fled with “thousands of pounds of cash” they had stolen from Mr Mustafaj, as well as his coat.
Mulvana, of Bright Street, York, later threw this huge bundle of “blood-stained cash” away in an attempt to evade detection for the grisly killing.
As well as the murder, Mulvana was convicted of robbery and causing grievous bodily harm to the other two victims. Tyers, who had been living in a caravan in Gate Helmsley, had already admitted those offences before the trial.
Mr Stubbs told the convicted murderers: “This was a plan to rob Mr Mustafaj and you killed him in that robbery. I do not find that you had any intention to kill.”
The judge said, however, that intent wasn’t required for the jury to convict the two men of a joint enterprise. It only had to be proved that they intended to do Mr Mustafaj really serious harm. However, it was still unclear who wielded the machete.
Mr Stubbs noted the “moving” victim-impact statement from Mr Mustafaj’s family in Albania, adding: “Whatever his lifestyle he will be greatly missed by them.”
Mulvana and Tyers were each jailed for life and told they would serve a minimum of 27 years and 295 days behind bars before being considered for parole.
“If you are released, you will be on licence for life,” added Mr Stubbs.
