At approximately 3.45am, two hooded gunmen broke into the home of Patrick 'Paddy' Logan through French doors. They proceeded upstairs to the bedroom, unaware that the 40-year-old had already called 999 after hearing their intrusion.

During the call, Mr. Logan informed the operator, "Yeah, er, I've just been woke up. There's been two...there's been people down the stairs. They've just ran out, I don't know what's going on."

As the operator asked, "Out of your property?" five shots from a semi-automatic pistol rang out, hitting Mr. Logan twice in the chest while his fiancée, Susan Thompson, looked on helplessly. Her 16-year-old son, who was asleep in the next room, also heard the gunfire and rushed in to witness the tragic events.

This was no ordinary break-in; it was a professional hit. The assailants fled the quiet Withington cul-de-sac in a silver Vauxhall Vectra while a murder investigation was initiated immediately.

A week later, a harrowing recording of the 999 call was publicly released. In the recording, Mr. Logan can be heard pleading for help moments before the gunman entered the bedroom, followed by chilling gunshots and Susan's desperate screams for assistance.

Describing her grief at a press conference, Ms. Thompson, who was just weeks away from marrying Mr. Logan, stated, "Patrick was not a bad man and he did not deserve this. No-one deserves to die like this."

Belfast-born Mr. Logan was a car dealer in Manchester, having moved to England at the age of 15. He had connections with republican paramilitary groups and criminal gangs in Dublin and Northern Ireland.

The initial forensic evidence included fingerprints and a basketball training shoe impression. A witness reported overhearing the gunman and his accomplice discussing a name, 'Kieran.'

After an inquest in 2007, Manchester Coroner Leonard Gorodkin delivered a verdict of unlawful killing, stating, "It seems pretty definite the people who broke into the home of the deceased were not out to cause general mayhem. They did not shoot Susan Thompson or her son. This was not a robbery, this was a murder."

Five years later, Mr. Logan's mother, Margaret, and brother, Frank, expressed their devastation over his death. Frank lamented to the Manchester Evening News, "I’m sure my brother must be turning in his grave that his killer is still out there."

Margaret added, "When Patrick was killed it broke our family apart. We have never had closure – it’s like he’s just been forgotten. I think someone in Manchester knows something and I want them to come forward."

In a renewed appeal for information in 2021, Martin Bottomley, Head of Greater Manchester Police's Cold Case Unit, identified the prime suspect: an Irish Republican paramilitary hitman already serving life for murder, hired to kill Mr. Logan.

Mr. Bottomley stated, "Over time allegiances change. Also, people who may have been too frightened to come forward may now feel able to do so. Mr. Logan may have had criminal links, but that will not affect our efforts to get justice for his family."

He noted the execution occurred in front of Ms. Thompson, whose son was in a nearby room, and that a £50,000 reward is available for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this heinous act.