Channel 5 revisits murder of Preston dad Jon-Jo Highton, 18, in true crime series Murdered for Revenge

The 60 minute episode aired on 5STAR (Freeview channel 131) at 9pm and took viewers back to the gruesome murder of 18-year-old Jon-Jo Highton who was stabbed to death in Deepdale in 2014.

After a night in a Preston pub, the young father was ambushed in St Stephen's Road by a balaclava-clad gang of young men armed with a samurai sword, axes and knives. He suffered horrific wounds to his neck, face and body and died at the scene.

The tragic events leading up to and following his death are reconstructed In ‘Murdered for Revenge’, while Jon-Jo’s friends and family relive the shock and trauma of his murder and the affect it had on their lives and community.

The series also features retired Lancashire Police detective superintendent Eddie Thistlethwaite who takes viewers through the investigation to catch his killers and bring them to justice, as well as insights from local journalists.

Jon-Jo’s brother Byron founded the JJ Effect following his sibling’s death to educate young people about the dangers of knife crime. He has visited schools, youth groups and worked alongside police to raise awareness of the life-shattering effects knife crime can have on families, including his own.

Byron, who features in the episode about his brother’s death, said it was “by far the worst and most traumatic TV show we have taken part in”.

A total of six men were convicted of Jon-Jo’s murder in 2015. Prosecutors said it was impossible to say who delivered the fatal wound so all six were charged with murder.

The jury were told that Jon-Jo Highton was involved in low level criminality and his alleged attackers were rivals out for revenge in retaliation for an assault the day before.

Drug dealer Owen Whitesmith, then aged 21, was handed a minimum of 27 years in prison for the vicious murder.

Five accomplices were found also guilty of murder and three others – including Whitesmith’s mum – of assisting an offender.

Arron Graham, 25, was given a minimum of 29 years, Stephen Walton, 26, a minimum of 26 years, Craig Walton, 29, a minimum of 26 years, Joshua Bore, 22, a minimum of 21 years and Zaahid Patel, 22, a minimum of 20 years.

You can watch ‘Murdered for Revenge’ on catch-up and learn how Lancashire Police caught Jon-Jo’s killers by visiting My5.