A father and daughter have been found guilty over the murder of Chereiss Bailey, whose body was dumped in a canal in Great Bridge, West Midlands, weighed down with paving slabs. John Anslow, 65, was convicted of her murder and preventing a lawful burial, while his daughter Hayley-Marie Ferguson was convicted of assisting an offender and preventing a lawful burial, following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Police said Anslow had presented himself as a vulnerable wheelchair user while in fact being a "violent predator", and the case highlights how his disguise helped conceal the crime.

Ms Bailey, 36, who sometimes worked as a sex worker, was last seen alive on CCTV entering Anslow's home on 27 September 2025 before being fatally assaulted. The next morning Anslow called Ferguson, who brought paving slabs by taxi under the pretext of gardening help, and the pair later wheeled the body from the house in Anslow's wheelchair before dumping it in the canal. Her body was recovered on 7 October 2025, ten days later, after a member of the public alerted West Midlands Police, and officers subsequently found blood-stained clothing at Ferguson's home. Ms Bailey's family paid tribute to her as a "much-loved daughter, sister, mother, auntie, granddaughter and friend" with a "huge personality", noting that her young son has been left without her.