Police issue statement after killer Bradley Ward is jailed over murder of Sheffield dad Ricky Collins

Bradley Ward, aged 24 and of Frecheville, plunged a knife into Ricky’s chest and arm during an incident in Killamarsh last March – severing an artery.

Ricky, a dad-of-three, could not be saved and a murder probe was launched.

The 31-year-old had been involved in an argument with Ward’s girlfriend earlier in the night, which had been the trigger for the fatal attack.

Ward, who went on the run for six days after the fatal stabbing, denied murder and claimed his actions were in self defence but he was found guilty by jurors after a three-week trial and jailed for life yesterday.

He was ordered to serve a minimum of 23 years behind bars before he can be considered for parole – meaning he will be at least 47 when he may taste freedom again.

Detective Chief Inspector Sally Blaiklok, who led the investigation into Ricky’s death on behalf of Derbyshire Constabulary, said: “No sentence imposed by the court will bring Ricky back but I hope his family and friends can draw some comfort from the knowledge that the man responsible for his death has been brought to justice and will rightly remain behind bars for years to come.”

Ward's father, David Ward, 44 and mother Kelly Ward, 43, both from Sheffield, helped their son evade arrest for six days after the murder.

They picked him up 20 minutes after the stabbing and took him to a relative’s house in Pontefract, where he stayed overnight before going to ground.

Ward’s parents later lied to the police about his whereabouts in the early days of the murder probe.

The killer eventually handed himself in and was charged.

Yesterday his dad and relative Martin Mongan, 45, were each sentenced to 24 months after admitting assisting an offender.

Ward’s mum is to be sentenced for the same offence at a hearing on January 26.

Jailing Bradley Ward yesterday, Judge Robert Egbuna, described the incident as a ‘senseless killing’ and described Ward’s behaviour as ‘shocking’.