Six jailed for life for 'senseless' murder of innocent woman
Six people have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of an innocent woman who was shot as part of a feud between rival drug gangs.
Joanne Penney was staying with friends at a house in Talbot Green, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in March 2025 when she answered a knock on the door.
Drug dealer Marcus Huntley, 22, pulled the trigger of the gun which had been delivered to him from Leicester to carry out a revenge attack.
Huntley, along with five others, were all convicted of murder after two lengthy trials at Cardiff Crown Court.
Sentencing them, Mr Justice Fordham said Penney's life was "senselessly taken" as an "innocent victim in a drugs war".
Jordan Mills-Smith, 34, from Cardiff, Leicester trio Joshua Gordon 28, Melissa Quailey-Dashper, 40, and Kristina Ginova, 22, along with drug gang boss Renaldo Baptiste, who ordered the attack from a prison cell, were found guilty of Penney's murder as part of the drugs turf war.
Both trials heard how the two rival drug gangs were involved in a turf war centred around Talbot Green and the address at Llys Illtyd where the shooting happened.
Weeks before the murder Huntley and Mills-Smith, working on behalf of Leicester drug boss Gordon, had placed a drug dealer at 10 Llys Illtyd, who was beaten and humiliated by a member of a rival drug gang.
Huntley and Gordon were said to have discussed a reprisal attack and a gun, along with ammunition, was sourced from the criminal underworld in Leicester and sent to Cardiff.
Following the shooting Huntley buried the gun in a park in Cardiff before fleeing the city.
Mills-Smith also fled to Suffolk but the police closed in on all six. Within days they were all arrested, with Huntley stopped in a dramatic swoop by police on a National Express coach.
Image source, South Wales Police/ CPS
Image source, South Wales Police/ CPS
Image source, South Wales Police/ CPS1 of 3
Huntley must serve 30 years before he can apply for parole; Mills-Smith a minimum of 27 years; Gordon 32 years and Baptiste will have to serve a further 42 years in jail before he can be considered for release. This will run concurrently with his current minimum term, which has 19 years left.
Quailey-Daspher, who knocked on the door pretending she wanted to buy drugs on the night of the murder, was told she must serve 14 years. Ginova, Gordon's girlfriend who destroyed vital evidence the day after the shooting, will serve a minimum of 12 years in jail.
The judge told Gordon he was a "full and willing participant [of the OCG]".
He added: "More than that, you were the dominant member. It was about getting the upper hand."
Fordham told Baptiste: "This was a murder by you, as an offender who had previously been convicted by murder."
He told him he will not be eligible for parole until 2068, adding: "You will be 81 years old."
There were gasps in the public gallery as the judge explained that.
Addressing Huntley, the judge said he was a "confident leader but was significantly influenced by Joshua Gordon".
Fordham told Quailey-Daspher her focus was on "getting a small amount of crack cocaine"
"You were aware than Marcus Huntley had a gun," he said, adding: "But it is not right to describe you as a full and willing participant."
The judge told Ginova that she appreciated there was going to be serious violence but "you didn't know that there was going to be a doorstep shooting or that anyone had a gun".
"You were active in destroying evidence now knowing someone had been shot dead. But you did it to protect Joshua Gordon."
During his mitigation, Gordon's barrister Talbir Singh KC said the defendant's involvement was that of a "secondary party".
"This was an incident fuelled and motivated by retribution, not for gain," he said, adding there was no intention to kill.
Baptiste's barrister, Bernard Tetlow KC, said he had no intention to kill, only to cause really serious harm, and that Baptiste was "shocked" by the outcome of events in Talbot Green.
For Huntley, Tom Crowther KC argued Penney's murder was "not done for gain", while Paul Hynes KC representing Mills-Smith said he did not have a managerial role and did not know what the plan was.
Peter Joyce KC, representing Quailey-Daspher, told the court: "She was born into destitution. She was born into abuse. She was born into exploitation. She was born into poverty. She was born into hopelessness. She was born into vulnerability and she was born into misery."
He added that the defendant was "utterly dependent on crack cocaine" which she funded through sex work.
"Her role in this case is completely different to anyone else's," said the barrister, explaining that she happened to be in Talbot Green because "she thought she was being taken on a trip to Cardiff".
He added Quailey-Daspher did not know most of her co-defendants, did not know about any grudge match between gangs and was not party to discussions about guns.
Ginova's barrister, Ignatius Hughes KC, said a report from social services described her as "vulnerable" and that she had been exploited.
'Mum was shot for no reason'
During the sentencing, emotional victim impact statements were read out in court.
Joanne Penney's son, Cody Griffiths said: "I can't put into words what's happened to our family.
"To have the person who brought me into this world and gave me life to be taken away from me in such an awful way is something I will never come to terms with.
"You shot my mother through the heart and shot her whole family through the heart too. I will never get to see or speak to her again.
"You will never begin to imagine what you have taken from us. To you she meant nothing but to us she meant everything.
"My mother will never be able to see me get married, will never get to meet my children. Can you imagine living life without your mother?"
A statement from Joanne Penney's two teenage daughters was also read out.
They said: "We're writing this to the people who killed our mum and anyone who helped them to explain how you changed our lives forever.
"Being told our mum was killed is something we'll never forget. How could someone do something so cruel?
"We felt lost, scared, and angry. We still feel this way. Now we keep asking ourselves why our mum was shot? Was she frightened? Did she know what was happening? We can't stop thinking about her last moments. It must have been terrifying for her and it's very painful for us to imagine.
"We were given memory boxes but we didn't have any memories to put inside and we never will. Our dad died when we were little and you have taken our mum, our history has been taken away.
"We remember her taking us to the beach and giving us ice cream. She was beautiful. We hoped one day we would see her again, to tell us about our childhood and family but that hope is gone. That hurt is more than you will ever know.
"You didn't just take our mum but our past, future and chance to know who we are and where we come from. You have left us as orphans.
"We will never truly know her as people who are grown up, this future is gone forever. We will live with this pain for the rest of our lives.
"Please remember that and ask yourselves how you would have felt as a child if your mum was shot for no reason."
'I have nightmares about what happened'
The court and six defendants also heard a statement read out on behalf of Joanne Penney's mother, Sharon Penney.
She said: "I come from a large, close and happy family but this awful thing that has happened has affected all of us as parents, siblings, children, grandparents, aunties and uncles.
"We're horrified and miss her so much. It's hard seeing pain on your three children's faces having lost their sister. I am in tears every time I look at them.
"I have nightmares about what happened and wake up screaming and crying only to realise it's not a nightmare, it's real.
"To this day I am still not able to move back into my house and live with my brother and his wife. I'm too scared to be alone, scared of myself and the depths of my depression."
Speaking after the case, Det Ch Insp Lianne Rees, of South Wales Police, said it laid bare "the devastating consequences of organised crime".
"Those responsible showed a complete disregard for human life and for the safety of our communities," she added.
A further five people will be sentenced for their involvement next month, including Molly Cooper from Leicester who was found guilty of acquiring the ammunition used to kill Penney.
Laura John and Donna James, from Cardiff, were found guilty of assisting Jordan Mills-Smith to flee the city following the murder.
Sai Manne and Callum Kelleher pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
Tony Porter, who was found not guilty of murder at the end of the first trial, has already been sentenced for his membership of an OCG.
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