GLAM Coleen Campbell painted the perfect picture of a distraught widow after her gangster ex-husband was brutally tortured and killed.
But a harrowing court case heard how she helped orchestrate the brutal attack that led to the drug baron’s death.
She was jailed for 13 years in February 2023 for the manslaughter of her ex-husband Thomas Campbell[/caption]
Thomas Campbell (left) and his ex-wife Coleen Campbell[/caption]
Dad-of-two Thomas Campbell, 38, was ambushed by three men on his doorstep on July 2, 2022.
His body was later discovered naked and bound with duct tape in his hallway.
Before his death, Thomas had been dating John Belfield‘s ex Demi-Lee Driver and he was “hostile” about the relationship.
The 31-year-old worked with Thomas’ ex-wife Coleen to arrange the horrendous attack.
The pair masterminded the plot to murder the gangster at his home in Mossley, Greater Manchester, with Campbell passing Belfield information on her ex’s movements.
She even gave him information which she obtained via two children she shared with Thomas, a court heard.
Belfield was found guilty of murder and conspiracy to rob following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.
He has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 37 years.
Campbell, 38, was previously jailed for 13 years after she shared intelligence of Thomas’ whereabouts to Belfield.
It was not the first time she’d displayed violent tenancies.
Days before her the father of her children was killed, Campbell teamed up with three other yobs to attack another victim in the street in Tameside, Greater Manchester.
Killer Campbell was seen striking the victim multiple times with a hammer – causing the defenceless woman to fall to the ground.
And just hours before the brutal attack on her ex, the mum-of-four was captured on CCTV in her pink pyjamas chatting to Belfield for 25 minutes in her garden.
She and Belfield had met up and also exchanged 35 phone calls and 68 messages as she conspired to have her ex-husband robbed.
During this time, Campbell divulged key information about Thomas – including details of his van’s registration plate and his house number.
Campbell helped Belfield plot the brutal ambush because she was furious at her ex for cheating on her before they split.
This is despite being told that Thomas would be robbed and “violence would be necessary”.
The scorned wife helped arrange Thomas’ murder[/caption]
Coleen and Thomas outside Manchester Crown Court together in 2018 when they faced money laundering charges[/caption]
‘A PSYCHIC TOLD ME’
The glam ex-wife slipped up and revealed her involvement in his death when she told Thomas’ mum about his injuries.
She was chillingly knowledgeable about the exact nature of what he had suffered.
Campbell then scrambled to cover up her slip with a flimsy excuse by claiming Thomas had described the attack to a clairvoyant from beyond the grave.
She married Thomas in 2011, and the pair enjoyed a very lavish lifestyle funded by the criminal underworld.
Their involvement in Manchester’s coke trade was exposed when cops began investigating them in 2014.
Police were suspicious about their flashy lifestyle as their only legal source of income were benefits and Ms Campbell’s part-time job at Matalan.
A FLASHY LIFE FUNDED BY DIRTY MONEY
Cops seized a Mercedes C63 – which cost £100,935 to £106,935 – and a BMW X5 – of which the prices start from £99,060.00.
The couple’s home was also found to have a double-storey extension funded by their shady activities.
The Campbells pleaded guilty to money laundering at Manchester Crown Court in 2019.
Fast forward to 2022, when Thomas’ body was found naked and bound at his home.
As he was a known drug baron, cops didn’t suspect his ex wife – who put on a convincing show.
She posted a slew of social media posts about her grief following the loss of her childrens’ dad.
Thomas and Coleen during one of their many holidays[/caption]
Gangster Thomas Campbell pictured with a tiger[/caption]
Coleen tried to cover up her knowledge of Thomas’ injuries by claiming he told her from beyond the grave[/caption]
A ‘GRIEVING WIDOW’
An emotional tribute on Facebook read: “13 years and two beautiful children. Forever grateful.
“I would do anything to hear your giddy laugh just one more time.”
But all along, she had been passing intel to Belfield in the plot that led to Thomas suffering 61 separate injuries at his £350,000 townhouse.
Footage released by police showed a tracking device being placed on Thomas’ car as he dropped his daughter off at school.
Belfield, Reece Steven, 29, and Stephen Cleworth, 38, used this to conduct reconnaissance missions to the dad’s home.
The court heard Belfield was “obsessed” with his ex Demi-Lee, who was now dating Thomas, and had messaged her before the killing, warning: “You’re mine”.
He also text his ex, saying: “You will never have a boyfriend you will have to move country give it a week and you will see why and happens when you take the p***.”
In the lead-up to the brutal murder, Belfield also sent Thomas a message, saying: “I’m going to s**g her [Campbell] for the point of it as well as saying you like her you soft boy.”
The prosecutor said a few days after the messages, Thomas died in the “most terrible way”.
On July 3, 2022, three men “pounced” on the dad as he arrived home late from a night out.
Blood splattered the walls of his smart new-build home as he was bound and brutalised while being tortured for two hours.
They spent thousands on luxury holidays and high-powered cars[/caption]
Reece Steven, 29, and Stephen Cleworth, 38, helped ambush the drugs baron[/caption]
John Belfield used information from Coleen to plot the murder[/caption]
THOMAS WAS TORTURED FOR TWO HOURS
A post mortem found injuries to his head and neck suggested a “sustained blunt sharp force physical assault”.
The dad also had burns on his body that were caused by a “hot liquid such as hot water”.
He had been dragged around the house as the attackers took as much money or drugs as they could get their hands on.
Thomas was then left to die in the hallway before being discovered the following day by a neighbour.
Belfield fled to South Africa following the gruesome killing and sent a series of chilling messages.
In one exchange with “right-hand man” Reece Steven, he callously joked the victim must have “bled everywhere”.
Steven, who has been jailed for Thomas’ murder, replied: “Tommy crumble. Dripping in tom juice everywhere.”
Karma is best served cold – and then tables turn real fast. I be the coldest MF you ever met
Coleen Campbell
Belfield, who denied being one of the three attackers who ambushed Thomas at his home, was found guilty of torturing his love rival to death after he plotted the grisly murder with the victim’s ex.
Campbell was jailed last year for 13 years after being convicted of manslaughter but cleared of murder.
Following the split with Thomas, she had chillingly text her friend: “Karma is best served cold – and then tables turn real fast. I be the coldest MF you ever met.”
Steven, 29, was caged for at least 37 years for murder while Stephen Cleworth, 38, was handed a minimum term of 12 years for manslaughter.
Wendy Logan, District Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “John Belfield was responsible for leading a meticulously planned attack to kill Thomas Campbell.
