St John's Wood man jailed for 12 years for shooting dead love rival

On September Louis Kelly, 40, of Belgrave Gardens, killed Mark McCann-Barrett, 33, after he found out his friend was having an affair with his former partner.

Kelly was sentenced for manslaughter at the Old Bailey today (January 5) having been found guilty in November.

In a victim impact statement, Mark’s mother said: “Mark was a loving partner and father. His whole world revolved around his children, my grandchildren.

“I will never forgive the person who did this to Mark. He has taken away the father of my four grandchildren whilst they were still so young.

Victim Mark McCann-Barrett. Picture: Met Police (Image: Archant)

“I won’t ever be able to tell him how much I loved him and how much he meant to me ever again.”

In October, during Kelly’s trial, the court heard that the police were called to reports of a man suffering gunshot injuries in the stairwell of a residential block in Lansdowne Road, Tottenham.

Mark McCann-Barrett was found suffering gunshot wounds to both legs. He was taken to an east London hospital and nearly two weeks later he died as a result of his injuries.

The court heard that on September 16, Mr McCann-Barrett’s partner found an explicit video of Kelly’s ex-girlfriend on his phone and confronted him.

Kelly went to his girlfriend’s address and taking her mobile phone also found proof of the affair.

The victim went to Kelly’s rental address at Lansdowne Road and was invited in by Kelly to sleep on the sofa.

During the night, an altercation between the two men resulted in Mr McCann-Barrett being shot five times in the legs.

He managed to make his way out of the flat to the stairwell, where he was found by other residents at around 9.30am.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “It is concerning that we so often see such extreme violence being considered as an acceptable response to conflict.

“There is simply no justification for taking the life of another.”