‘From shop assistant to murder’: Incredible rise of cocaine kingpin gangster’s moll… before a clairvoyant ended reign of torture, hammer beatings and death

Caught on camera battering a woman with a hammer during a vicious ambush, Coleen Campbell’s propensity for violence is obvious. 

Yet just three days later she would be involved in an even more horrific act – the torture and killing of her drug baron ex-husband. 

Footage of Campbell and two other female accomplices raining down blows during the street brawl was played to a court in Manchester this week. 

But rather than appearing in the dock to face charges over the assault on June 29, 2022, Campbell attended via a video link from jail – where she is currently serving a 13-year sentence for helping to orchestrate her ex’s murder on July 2, 2022. 

Father-of-two Thomas Campbell, 38, was ambushed by three men as he opened his front door on July 2, 2022 before being subjected to prolonged torture before his death.

Coleen – furious at him for cheating before their split – had shared his whereabouts despite being warned that he would be robbed and ‘violence would be necessary’. 

After playing the ‘perfect’ grieving widow, she eventually exposed her involvement by describing the exact nature of Thomas’ injuries to his mother – details she claimed he had relayed from the grave after being summoned by a clairvoyant. 

But if this is how her sordid criminal career came to an end, how did it begin?

While it’s unclear exactly when she first became involved in Manchester’s underworld, Coleen was already heavily involved when she married Thomas in 2011. 

Police began investigating the couple in 2014 and uncovered their role in the area’s cocaine trade. 

The probe also honed in on their lavish lifestyle, with the pair found to have spent more than £100,000 on luxury cars and holidays, despite their only legitimate income being benefits and Coleen’s part-time job at Matalan. 

Police later seized a Mercedes C63 and a BMW X5 from their house, which had been fitted by a double-storey extension funded by dirty money. 

The pair both pleaded guilty to money laundering and at Manchester Crown Court in 2019, with Thomas jailed for two years and Coleen handed a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

As is usual for such cases, police sought to claw back the couple’s wealth by beginning an investigation under the proceeds of crime act. 

But three years later, their attention would be diverted to a far more pressing matter – Thomas’ disappearance and murder.

Given his status as a major drug dealer, Thomas had many enemies, meaning suspicion did not at first focus on Coleen, who had by then broken up with him after accusations of cheating.

Indeed, Facebook posts at the time show she put on a show of grieving by posting a series of ‘tributes’ featuring broken heart emojis and warm words for the father of her two children. 

One read: ’13 years and 2 beautiful children. Forever grateful. I would do anything to hear your giddy laugh or your none [sic] stop moaning just one more time.’

Coleen also helped to photograph and arrange the ceremonial releasing of balloons in his memory. 

But she went on to give away her role in Thomas’ killing in a bizarre way – by visiting a psychic. 

At this meeting – four days after his death – Coleen claimed his spirit had been summoned and shared intimate details about his murder and the injuries he had sustained. 

Coleen relayed them all to the victim’s suspicious mother, who alerted police. 

At the time of the séance, little information had previously been made public by police about the fatal assault – but Coleen fell under suspicion as only the killers could have known the details about Thomas’ fatal wounds.

Inquiries revealed she had been tipping off the killers about her ex-husband’s movements in the run up to the attack, with a phone conversation she had with one of them caught on her home CCTV. 

He would go on to die in the most horrific manner possible, suffering 61 separate injuries during a drawn-out, sadistic assault at his £350,000 townhouse in Mossley that also saw him robbed of drugs, cash and valuables. 

He was stabbed, punched and stamped on before boiling water was poured on his buttocks. Neighbours found his body in the hallway naked except for his socks.

Coleen was found guilty of manslaughter in 2023 after a five-week trial.

Texts the killer exchanged with friends after her split from Thomas in 2021 following an affair threw light on her motivation. 

Initially she put on a show of defiance, telling one: ‘Best thing this man did was sh*g my baggy mate 12 months ago. Roll on new beginnings.’

But in another text she hinted at plans for revenge, writing: ‘Never let the actions of a man that cannot be loyal to his own family and a woman with no morals and has to sleep with other women’s husbands, change and provoke you. Karma is best served cold – and then tables turn real fast. I be the coldest MF you ever met.’

Reece Steven, 29, was convicted of murder and was jailed for life with a minimum of 37 years while Stephen Cleworth, 38, was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 12 years. Both were also found guilty of conspiracy to rob. 

Another man, John Belfield, 28, was charged with murder last year and is awaiting trial. 

During Monday’s hearing relating to the earlier – unrelated -street assault, Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Coleen attacked Niamh Wasik alongside two other women, Hannah Derbyshire, 27, and Chloe Bamford, 30, and a 38-year-old man, Simon Bowden.

The court heard how one of the attackers had been in a relationship with a man called James Heaney at the same time as Ms Wasik, prompting Campbell to take part in what appears to be a reckless attempt to scare her off. 

Prosecutor Danielle Gilmour told how Campbell was driving the three other defendants in a VW Tiguan before they ambushed Ms Wasik at the junction of Rutland Street and Granville Street in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Derbyshire leapt out the car and began ‘raining down blows and kicks’ on the victim,’ the court heard, while Bowden – armed with a ‘two foot long drill bit’ – pulled a balaclava down over his face.

Campbell, wearing all black and armed with a hammer, hit the victim ‘multiple times’ before dragging the woman to the ground where she was kicked by Campbell and her two female accomplices. 

The assault lasted about 90 seconds before Campbell and the three other attackers fled the scene in the Tiguan, with a rock being hurled at the vehicle’s windshield as it sped away.

Campbell allegedly stole the victim’s handbag, which was found in her home when police raided it, the Manchester Evening News reported from court. 

She and her three accomplices all ‘lied or made no comment’ when questioned by police, a judge said.

Bamford claimed she had been acting in self-defence, while Bowden said he had been in Manchester city centre at the time. It is not known whether the victim suffered any injuries, as she refused to co-operate with police. 

All four defendants pleaded guilty to violent disorder. Campbell also admitted theft.

Defending Campbell, who is being held in HMP Drake Hall, Bob Elias said she appeared an ‘amiable, bright and pleasant woman’.

Sentencing, Recorder Michael Blakey said: ‘On June 29, 2022, the four of you went in a car, clearly a planned adventure, to a place, Granville Street in Ashton-under-Lyne, where the victim in this case was assaulted.

‘The motive behind this appears to be the relationship that there was between you, Hannah Derbyshire, and somebody called James Heaney.

‘The victim was involved in a relationship with him also. The four of you went in the car, three of you armed, Ms Campbell with a hammer, you Hannah Derbyshire didn’t arm yourself, and you Ms Bamford with a rolling pin. Mr Bowden you had a two foot long drill bit in your possession.

‘It must have been a very frightening and scary situation which arose, and no doubt put people who were watching what was going on in fear themselves.’

He told Campbell: ‘You armed yourself with a hammer, you in fact used the hammer on the victim in this case. I have read information which suggests you while you have been in custody have developed insight, that you have attended courses and are doing all you possibly can to reform yourself. That is to be commended.’

Campbell and Bowden, both of no fixed address, were sentenced to 18 months in prison each. 

Derbyshire, of Clayton, and Bamford, of Openshaw, were both handed suspended prison sentences.