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Man who hid body of arson attack suspect in bin jailed
Steven Wales received a two-year, four-month sentence after admitting he hid Paul Smith’s body, which was later found in a wheelie bin.
- On Wednesday, Steven Wales, 61, was sentenced to two years and four months at Liverpool Crown Court for moving Paul Smith's body into a wheelie bin after pleading guilty to preventing a lawful and decent burial.
- After calling 999 on July 22, 2025, to report Smith's death from a drug overdose, Wales admitted moving the body, though Judge Neil Flewitt questioned how a man with COPD could perform the act alone.
- Smith, 40, was previously linked to a fatal fire in Fingerpost that killed Sheila Jackson and Eric Greener; pathologists confirmed he had taken a "relatively large amount of cocaine" and other sedatives.
- Addressing Wales, Smith's family stated, "We do not believe you have told the whole truth about what happened to Paul," and as Wales was led from the dock, Smith's brother called him "you little scumbag."
- Wales, who has 32 previous convictions for 64 offences, claimed he "panicked" because he was on license and feared returning to prison, having been initially arrested on suspicion of murder.
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Man jailed for hiding arson suspect's body in wheelie bin
A MAN has been jailed after he admitted hiding the body of an arson attack suspect in a wheelie bin.
·St Helens, United Kingdom
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