Mother and her two adult children jailed after murdering relative

A mother and her two children have been jailed after murdering a man in Blackburn.

Paul Scott, 37, was murdered on 22^nd June 2025 on Peridot Close in Blackburn by his two relatives: Liam Donlin and Amie Clegg, and their mum, Joanne Maxwell.

Whist Paul was killed in June 2025, the story really started almost a year prior - in September 2024, when Joanne Maxwell was involved in an altercation with a number of other people. Paul was present at the time of the altercation, but his only involvement was trying to split the altercation up.

At the time, Maxwell’s son Liam Donlin was in prison. Maxwell began sending threatening messages to Paul and those involved in the altercation, saying “just wait until Liam gets out” and “time is ticking”.

Maxwell’s daughter, Amie Clegg also sent messages to associates after the altercation including one saying that Donlin would “bang the f**k out of people.” She also went on to say that her mum was ‘trying to behave herself and not get arrested’ but would ‘get them all one by one.’

Between the time of the altercation and March 2025, Maxwell continued to send messages threatening Paul and those involved in the altercation to her associates. In messages sent in March 2025, Maxwell says she has decided to get her son involved.

By 21^st June, Donlin had been released from prison and was on a night out in Blackburn. At the same time, Clegg and Maxwell were out in Blackburn and Darwen.

In one of the pubs they visited that night, Maxwell and Clegg had an argument with someone involved in the initial altercation.

After that, they both repeatedly tried to contact Donlin to recruit him to help them cause serious harm to Paul.

They left the pub about an hour after the argument and meet up with Donlin 13 minutes later, getting a taxi back to their home.

When in the taxi, Maxwell was heard insisting that they had to sort something out tonight, whilst Clegg was telling her mum that he was “100 percent” at a particular address, and “needs to be sorted”

Liam, sat in the back of the taxi was getting steadily angrier. He was heard saying that he was going to teach ‘him’ a lesson, and how ‘he’ was going to get it.

Instead of going directly to Paul’s address, they asked the taxi to take them home. They were only in their house a matter of minutes before they left armed with kitchen knives.

Maxwell got in the driver’s seat, Donlin in the front and Clegg in the back. They travelled to Paul’s house armed with knives. Whilst in the car Donlin sent an audio message to an associate. In it, he says ‘I’m going to stab him right now.’ He also sent a message referencing a man involved in the initial altercation, saying that “he is dead”.  It’s thought that Maxwell, Donlin and Clegg didn’t know where the other man was, so headed for Paul’s house instead, intending to kill them one at a time.

Having decided on Paul as their first target, Donlin continued to send voice notes and messages, promising to film the murder and get it on Snapchat. He went on to say: “I’m going to absolutely chop this kid up now.”

The three arrived at Paul’s house and parked down the street, in attempt to go unnoticed. By this point Clegg had Donlin’s phone and was ready to film the attack. They approached Paul’s front door armed with the knives and, knowing Paul was scared of the repercussions from her mum and brother, Clegg knocked on the door, speaking to Paul through it, thinking she would have the best chance of getting him to answer.

Paul did open the door, and by this point Clegg was behind Maxwell and Donlin as he barged his way in, stabbing Paul in the chest.

Clegg filmed from just before Paul opened the door, to just after Paul was attacked. His murder can be heard on the footage.

Clegg left the scene stopping back at the car before she called 999. Not to tell the truth, not to get Paul help or because she was so horrified by her brother’s actions, but to spin a web of lies in attempt to cover up what they had done.

She told the ambulance service call handler that her name was Emily, that she was with her brother Callum and that she didn’t know what had happened to Paul Scott. Then, as the call handler talked them through CPR, she told them that Paul was already dead and that she didn’t know what the call handler wanted her to do for him.

Police arrived where Maxwell continued her daughter’s lies, saying that they simply found Paul in the state they left him in.

All three were arrested and taken into custody.

A Home Office Post Mortem concluded that Paul died from the stab wound to his chest. It was so severe that it pierced through skin, tissue and muscle and continued into his heart.

Paul’s blood was found on Liam’s clothing, and the three knives were located – two in Paul’s sink, and the third in the car.

Donlin, 25, of Lynwood Avenue, Darwen, pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter and possession of a knife, but not guilty to murder.

Maxwell, 44, of Lynwood Avenue, Darwen, pleaded not guilty, to murder, manslaughter and possession of a knife, before pleading guilty to manslaughter on the third day of the trial.

Clegg, 22, of Lynwood Avenue, Darwen, pleaded not guilty to murder, manslaughter and possession of a knife.

In a 13-day trial at Preston Crown Court, a jury heard the evidence and unanimously found all three guilty of murder. They also found Maxwell and Clegg guilty of possession of a knife.

Today (20^th March 2026), they appeared back in the dock, where they were jailed for life.

Liam Donlin was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 26 years.

Joanne Maxwell was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 23 years.

Amie Clegg was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 20 years.

This means that all three will have to serve a minimum of 26, 23 and 20 years respectively before they are eligible to apply for parole.

Paul’s (pictured below) family shared Victim Personal Statements with the court and have given us their blessing to share excerpts of them with you today.

Paul’s mum Julie said: “Paul was friendly to everyone he met. He had many friends all of whom are still struggling to come to terms with what has happened. He was the last person on earth they would have thought would be the victim of such a violent crime.

“Paul’s family loved him very much. He could light up a room with his laughter and kind nature. He was emotional and sensitive. Paul never shied away from showing his emotions to his loving family. He always gave us all hugs and told us how much he loved us.

“The day I got the phone call to say my son’s body had been found in his flat will haunt me forever. I collapsed. To be told he’d been murdered was horrific. To be told he’d been murdered by three people, two of which are relatives was unbearable. How does a mother ever recover from that? Paul had shown both of those people nothing but kindness and friendship.”

Paul’s dad Billy said: “Paul wasn’t one for hanging around the streets much with friends when he was growing up, he would often be at home and would invite his friends round there. Sometimes up to 30 friends, but at least we knew where he was and what he was doing. He was a homebird and loved spending time with his family and being close to them. Often, whilst he was on a night out, in the early hours he would ring me just to say, “I LOVE YOU”. That was Paul, family was always on his mind.”

He continued: “When I would go out for a drink with Paul, he would chat to me about how he hoped to have a family that he could go home to one day, a wife and children. He would have loved to have settled down at some point, now that chance has been snatched so cruelly away from him.

“I miss Paul, and I will for the rest of my life.”

Paul’s younger sister Jade said: “I didn’t get nearly enough time with him. There are so many more conversations we needed to have, places we needed to see and things we needed to do. I will no longer get to grow old with Paul, just like we planned. I would give anything on this earth to have one more hug with him. I didn’t just lose my brother; I lost someone who shaped who I am. Someone irreplaceable.”

She ended her statement with: “I can’t quite believe we live in a world with such evil in it. Because of said evil, my life and my family’s lives as we knew them, are over. There is no punishment large enough that will ever change that. Our Paul, the kindest soul that I’ve ever known, is gone forever.”

Paul’s brother Andrew spoke of his feelings around the murder in his impact statement: “Pauly was taken from us in an unimaginable act of cruelty. Murdered in his own home. A premeditated act of brutality against my brother. Recorded. Filmed. Documented. For what I can only assume would be for some twisted future satisfaction. To savour the moment and relive it in days to come. What could my brother have possibly done to warrant such a lack of humanity.

“He took his final breaths on film at the hands of these monsters. It haunts me to think what was going through his mind in these final moments. Shock. Fear. Confusion. Betrayal. Helplessness. Loneliness. As he lay there bleeding to death, I can’t bear to think that these three murderers were the last faces he saw.”

He continued: “Pauly used to say you never know what’s around the corner in life. I can’t help thinking of all the things he’ll now never get to experience. He would have had kids of his own one day I’m sure of it. He’d have made a great Dad. Now it’s all gone. All of it. All his possible futures taken from him.”

Detective Superintendent John McNamara of Lancashire Police said: “From spending time with Paul’s family throughout the course of the investigation, and reading their impact statements, it quickly became clear to myself and the team how special and loved Paul was.

“Nothing will bring him back to them, his killers may have been given a life sentence, but so have Paul’s loved ones, and our thoughts are very much with them at this time.

“That night Paul opened his front door to his then 21-year-old cousin in the early hours of the morning. He didn’t expect that to be the last thing he did.

“This goes much further back than 22^nd June 2025. Joanne Maxwell let her upset that Paul didn’t defend her fester for almost a year before she incited her son to kill him. Liam Donlin may have been the one to stab Paul, but there were three people responsible for his murder.

“Amie Clegg lied to the ambulance service, wasting time where they could have been making attempts to save Paul trying to deceive those dedicated to helping him.

“Liam callously stabbed Paul as soon as he opened the door that night. He went to Paul’s house with the intention of taking his life.

“Paul died in a brutal, unexpected attack in the place he should have felt the safest, and in the company of those he should have been safe with – in his home, with his family.

“None of the three ever admitted to Paul’s murder, meaning his family had to sit through a trial, listening to and watching evidence of their pre-meditation and Paul’s final moments.

“Paul’s family have shown an incredible sense of strength throughout the course of this investigation. No sentence will make up for their horrific loss of their son and brother, but I do hope that in time they can begin to rebuild their lives knowing that those responsible for taking Paul from them have been brought to justice.”