Police have released dramatic footage of the moment a fugitive murderer was arrested on the tarmac after landing in the UK — 18 months after brutally stabbing a teenager to death during a night out.
Thomas Dures, 22, was met by officers as he stepped off a plane at a UK airport in January this year, following his extradition from Greece. The arrest brought to a close a months-long international manhunt sparked by the killing of 19-year-old Matthew Daulby in the early hours of July 29, 2023, in Ormskirk, Lancashire.
Matthew had been out with friends when he was attacked in a sudden and unprovoked street assault. He was stabbed in the chest by Dures after being struck in the head with a makeshift weapon by Dures' accomplice, Henry Houghton.
Despite the efforts of emergency services, Matthew was pronounced dead at hospital. A Home Office post-mortem later confirmed he had died from a single stab wound to the chest.
The shocking incident, which unfolded in the heart of the town centre, sent shockwaves through the local community. CCTV footage played in court revealed Dures and Houghton lurking in a dark alleyway moments before the attack. Armed with a lock knife, Dures could be seen advancing towards Matthew’s group, opening the blade as he approached. Houghton followed closely behind, swinging a crude weapon fashioned from a rock stuffed inside a sock.
The court heard that Matthew was first struck in the head with the sock weapon, causing serious brain damage and leaving him confused and vulnerable. In this disoriented state, he was stabbed through the chest by Dures.
Following the attack, Dures fled the scene, looping back through the town centre to discard evidence. He left his jacket on a park bench and dumped the murder weapon in a ginnel near Ormskirk Parish Church. Both items were later recovered by members of the public — a dog walker and an estate agent — and turned over to police, providing key evidence in the investigation.
But Dures had already vanished. Despite extensive media appeals and multiple police operations, he remained at large for 18 months, living abroad under the radar while Matthew’s family were left to grieve with no sense of closure.
It wasn’t until January 2025 that Dures walked into a police station in Greece and turned himself in. Within weeks, he was extradited back to the UK, where he was arrested immediately upon landing.
Lancashire Police released footage of the arrest earlier this week, showing officers waiting for Dures on the tarmac. In a statement, the force said:
"The Daulby family have had to wait patiently for the man responsible for delivering the fatal injury to answer for his crimes. The video shows the moment Thomas Dures landed back on English soil, to face trial. The Daulbys have had to grieve all of this time, knowing the man responsible for taking their son’s life was actively evading justice and celebrating his 21st birthday in the sun — something Matthew will never be able to do.”
The case proceeded to trial at Preston Crown Court, where Dures denied responsibility for the killing. In what police called a "catalogue of lies," he attempted to deflect blame onto others and refused to take accountability for his actions.
However, after hearing days of evidence — including chilling CCTV and forensic reports — the jury took less than three hours to return a unanimous verdict. Dures was found guilty of Matthew’s murder and the unlawful wounding of a second man during the same attack. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Outside court, police condemned Dures’ refusal to accept guilt, stating:
“He pointed the finger of blame at everybody but himself. Thankfully, the jury saw through his lies and ensured that Dures will be held accountable for his crimes.”
The trial concluded just days before the second anniversary of Matthew’s death. In heartbreaking victim impact statements read aloud in court, his family described the devastating emotional toll the murder has taken on their lives.
His mother, Angela Daulby, called Dures’ actions “cowardly” and said the pain inflicted on the family was immeasurable. She said they had been forced to endure experiences “we would never have imagined having to do” — including identifying Matthew’s body, planning his funeral, and attending his murder trial.
Matthew’s father, Gary Daulby, described his son as “kind, funny, clever and fiercely loyal,” and said the family’s world had been “shattered beyond recognition.”
He added:
“We will never see Matthew grow into the man he was becoming. He was taken from us in the most brutal, senseless way. No parent should have to bury their child because of mindless violence.”
The conviction has brought some sense of justice for the Daulby family, but police and campaigners say the case also highlights the continuing tragedy of knife crime among young people in the UK.
A Lancashire Police spokesperson said:
“Knife crime devastates lives. One family is left to grieve a beloved son, while another sees their own child sentenced to life behind bars. There are no winners here — only pain, loss and irreversible damage. We urge young people to think before carrying weapons. One decision can change — or end — a life forever.”
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