Two men have been jailed for life for killing a man in a ‘brutal’ machete attack in York.
Jobie Tyers, 28, of no fixed address, and Michael Richard Mulvana, 32, of Bright Street, Leeman Road, York, were both found guilty of murder on Wednesday.
They stabbed Indrit Mustafaj, 26, who was known as ‘Mustang’, and injured another man and a woman after forcing their way into a bedsit in Vyner Street off Haxby Road, on 23 November 2024.
Today (Friday) a judge at Leeds Crown Court gave both men life sentences, each with a minumum term of 27 years and 295 days in prison.
The pair wore face coverings and had armed themselves with weapons including a crow bar to “tax” the occupants of drugs they believed were at the property.
However, during the attack they found a large machete at the address which was used to stab Mr Mustafaj a number of times.
He was taken to hospital with severe wounds and died from a severed artery.
The two other victims were given medical treatment and both have made physical recoveries.
Tyers and Mulvana were quickly identified as suspects and arrested within a day of the attack by North Yorkshire Police.
Three days later they were charged with the murder of Mr Mustafaj – who was originally from Albania but lived in Bradford.
Tyers pleaded guilty to robbery and denied the other offences, whereas Mulvana denied all charges.
But a jury found them guilty following a trial which concluded this week.
Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Naughton said: “Mr Mustafaj’s death was both brutal and tragic.
“While his attackers brought weapons to carry out this premeditated attack, our investigation revealed that the fatal injuries were inflicted with a machete they found when they got to the bedsit.
“It was probably there with the intention of using it in self-defence, in the event of an attack like this. But by owning a knife you’re potentially arming your attacker.
“As detectives, sadly we see people lose their lives in this way and we also see the impact on their families’ lives when they’re gone. Both of these consequences are horrendous and show how dangerous possessing or carrying a knife can be.
“Mulvana and Tyers are violent individuals who will now have an extremely long time in custody to reflect on what they’ve done.”
