Four held over Army cadet's murder

Thursday 23 October 2008 07:28 EDT

Detectives investigating the murder of a teenage Army cadet arrested four suspects today.

Joseph Lappin, 16, of Old Swan, Liverpool, was knifed in the heart on Monday night after being chased by a gang.

A police spokesman said two boys aged 14 and 15 and a 20-year-old man from Vauxhall were arrested, along with a 19-year-old man from Kirkdale.

The arrests take the number of people in custody to five as a 16-year-old boy from Kirkdale was arrested yesterday afternoon.

Two teenagers whose ages were not divulged were arrested near the scene of Joseph's murder in Everton on Monday night.

They were released on police bail the following day.

Joseph, whose heartbroken parents Toni and John appealed to the killers' parents to turn them in, was attacked with two friends.

One, Callum Naden, 17, was stabbed twice and police said he was lucky to be alive. The other sustained minor injuries.

This morning's arrests were on suspicion of Joseph's murder and the attempted murder of Callum.

Yesterday, Mr Lappin, 45, and his 44-year-old wife laid flowers outside the Shrewsbury House Youth Club where their son lost his life.

One of the cards said: "Joseph. The good die young, and we know you were one of the best, sleep tight son. Love forever Mum x."

The other said: "To my beautiful son Joseph. Words cannot express how I feel. Love you always Dad x."

Detectives are studying CCTV footage to discover the gang's movements in the moments before and after the attack.

It was Joseph's first visit to the club and he was there to support a friend who was playing in a band.

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