Charlene Ellis' brother charged with fatal shooting

Thursday, 13 November 2003 12:00 AM

One of the men charged with the fatal shootings of Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare is the brother of one of the victims.

Marcus Junior Ellis is the half-brother of shooting victim Charlene.

Cousins Charlene and Letisha died after being caught in a hail of automatic gunfire outside a New Year party at a hairdressing salon in Birmingham's Aston area in the early hours of January 2nd this year.

Four men have been charged by West Midlands police with the murders of the two art students, aged 17 and 18.

Charlene's twin sister Sophie and another friend Cheryl Shaw were injured in the shooting.

Four Birmingham men - aged 19, 22, 23 and 24 - have been charged with killing the two girls, West Midlands Police said.

Marcus Junior Ellis, 23, Michael Gregory, 21, Rodrigo Fernando Simms, 19, and 24-year-old Nathan Antonio Martin, were all remanded in custody for seven days by magistrates in Birmingham.

Each of the defendants has also been charged with three counts of attempted murder in connection with the fatal shootings.

The four defendants spoke only to confirm their names at the hearing.

The case against Gregory, of Ladywood; Ellis, of Winson Green and Simms and Martin, both of Smethwick, was transferred to Birmingham Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on November 20th.

The mothers of the two girls recently travelled to New York to see how gun crime is tackled there.

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