Age: 20
Sex: male
Date: 26 Apr 2017
Place: Liverpool Street, Greenbank, St Helens
Ryan Lamb was stabbed on land off Liverpool Street in Greenbank, St Helens on Sunday 23 April 2017 and taken to hospital but died a few days later in the early hours of Wednesday 26 April 2017.
He suffered a single stab wound.
It was thought that the incident had taken place behind the Phoenix Inn on Canal Street near the Shere Khan takeaway in St Helens town centre.
The police later recovered two knives on 12 May 2017 which they took away for forensic tests, but said that they were not certain that they were connected with the incident.
Three people were arrested but the Crown Prosecution Service said that there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone.
Two youths aged 17 and 18 were initially held on suspicion of attempted murder but were later released. A 21-year old was also arrested on suspicion of assault.
The 18-year-old was from Kensington and the 17-year-old was from Rainhill.
The police said that they did not think that it was a gang-related or a targeted attack.
It was heard that a physical dispute had taken place between three men in an area that was not covered by CCTV, each of whom sustained injuries, but that there were no other witnesses and that there was no admissible evidence as to what happened beyond conjecture.
The Crown Prosecution Service said, 'At the present time, there is insufficient evidence to charge any of the suspects with a criminal offence. It is not the function of the CPS to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for the criminal court to consider. The CPS assessment of any case is not in any sense a finding of, or implication of, any guilt or criminal conduct. It is not a finding of fact, which can only be made by a court, but rather an assessment of what it might be possible to prove to a court, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. CPS prosecutors must also keep every case under review, so that they take account of any change in circumstances that occurs as the case develops, including what becomes known of the defence case. If appropriate, the CPS may change the charges or stop a case'.
After the Crown Prosecution Service decision, it was heard that the case was referred back to the coroner for an inquest.
Ryan Lamb was from Sutton, St Helens and had a child.
