Joanne Penney only went to answer the door. It cost her her life. This is the story of a gangland shooting, a violent feud, and an innocent victim
10:42, 31 Jan 2026
Marcus Huntley (bottom right) pulled the trigger in a doorstep revenge attack that claimed the life of Joanne Penney (inset) in a quiet cul-de-sac in Talbot Green(Image: WalesOnline (main image)/Wales News Service (inset))
The doorbell rang and Joanne Penney went to the front door to answer. It was an innocuous act that would turn out to be her last – because a masked shooter armed with a handgun stood on the other side of the door.
When Joanne opened that door she was indiscriminately shot in the heart at point-blank range. She stumbled back into the property before collapsing to the floor and was declared dead later that day. Her killer, Marcus Huntley, had never met Joanne and did not know her.
She was an innocent party caught up in a drugs turf war and killed without a thought. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here.
The supporting players in the murder sought to protect themselves and tried to avoid justice but a trial into Joanne’s murder finally brought those responsible to book.
Here is the full story of the murder of Joanne Penney.
The innocent victim
Joanne Penney(Image: PA)
Joanne Penney was just 40 years old at the time of her death.
She was described as a daughter, mother, sister, and niece and was “loved deeply” by all who knew her.
In a statement released after her death her family said: “Her kindness, strength, and love for her family will never be forgotten.”
Joanne did not live at 10 Llys Illtyd in Talbot Green, the quiet Rhondda Cynon Taf community where she was killed, but spent time there. The house was associated with the misuse of drugs.
The drug war
Prior to Joanne’s death there had been a “clash or rival organised crime groups” – one headed by Joshua Gordon of the Rico OCG and another headed by Daniel Joseph, also known as Jimmy.
Joshua Gordon(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)
Gordon, also known as Reece and Rico, had been involved with his girlfriend Kristina Ginova in serious drug trafficking.
Based in Leicester he was seeking to branch out to south Wales and had been in touch with Marcus Huntley and Jordan Mills-Smith – drug dealers based in Cardiff.
Meanwhile, Melissa Quailey-Dashper and her partner Tony Porter had been used by Gordon and Ginova to assist them in their drug dealing trade in Leicester.
Melissa Quailey-Dashper outside Cardiff Crown Court(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)
Gordon’s planned expansion had not been received well by a rival group of drug dealers run by Jimmy (Daniel Joseph).
On two occasions Jimmy and his men had confronted and humiliated members of the Rico group in Talbot Green.
The house in Talbot Green
On February 21 and 22, 2025, Huntley was present at 10 Llys Illtyd dealing drugs when Jimmy and four other men arrived outside the address. They were wearing Covid masks and gloves.
Huntley managed to escape the address with another male, Marek Platchekova, and fled in a car driven by a man called Neil Roger Thomas. There was a pursuit in which the car carrying Huntley was rammed by a 4×4.
Marcus Huntley outside Cardiff Crown Court.(Image: WALES NEW SERVICE)
In the following days Huntley, Gordon, and another discussed obtaining a firearm and ammunition to “send a message” to their rivals. Huntley joked that they stick to “leg shots only”. The message read: “Yh gang cmon love for tha and leg shots only”.
Another incident took place after Huntley and Mills-Smith brought a man to 10 Llys Illtyd with £200 worth of drugs to sell. The occupant of the house was Katie Summers, who was known to Huntley and Mills-Smith.
Jordan Mills-Smith arriving at Cardiff Crown Court (Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)
Ms Summers said three men later arrived at the house and she believed one of them to be Jimmy. She said he was “displeased” the man was dealing on his patch and had what appeared to be a gun in his right hand.
Jimmy was asking the man where his “pack” was – then Ms Summers said she heard the man screaming.
He later told her the men had used a spoon to look for drugs in his anus.
The prosecution case in the trial into Joanne’s murder stated the man had been threatened with an imitation firearm, violently assaulted, and “spooned”.
Prosecutor Jonathan Rees KC said: “This was the second humiliation in less than two weeks – and the Rico OCG sought both revenge and to show its strength to Daniel Joseph and his group.
“Miss Penney was not specifically targeted – the plan was to shoot someone at the address in which [the man] was attacked and from which they were prevented from selling drugs.”
Movements before the shooting
On March 9 last year a Nissan car registered to Tony Porter travelled the 150 miles from Leicester to Cardiff in convoy with a black Volvo.
At 9.43am Quailey-Dashper messaged Kristina Ginova: “Leaving Tony’s in 10minz will b on route c u shortly.”
At 10.22am Quailey-Dashper messaged a friend saying: “On way to Cardiff taking reece and his gal der an bak pik up a parcell”.
Communication data showed that Gordon, Quailey-Dashper, and Ginova all travelled from Leicester as part of the Nissan/Volvo convoy.
Kristina Ginova(Image: WALES NEW SERVICE)
Mr Rees said: “During the journey Ginova sent messages to Gordon (who was in the car with Porter and Quailey-Dashper) concerning Porter’s driving. She was concerned that Porter would get pulled over by the police for speeding and not using his indicators.
“The address to which they travelled in Cardiff was Bryn Celyn – Jordan Mills-Smith’s grandmother’s address.
“Each of Gordon, Huntley, Mills-Smith, Quailey-Dashper, and Ginova were then present together inside Bryn Celyn where the prosecution suggests the plan to exact revenge at the address in Talbot Green must have been discussed further…. Porter remained outside in his Nissan.”
Tony Porter outside Cardiff Crown Court.(Image: WALES NEW SERVICE)
After a period Huntley, Mills-Smith, Quailey-Dashper, and Gordon left the address and got into Porter’s Nissan and Porter drove them to Talbot Green.
At roughly the same time Ginova drove the Volvo away from Bryn Celyn to a McDonald’s restaurant nearby in Cardiff Gate, taking Gordon’s phone with her.
CCTV captured the Nissan parking on a road close to number 10 minutes before the murder of Joanne.
The shooting
Huntley, Mills-Smith, and Quailey-Dashper got out of the Nissan and walked towards 10 Llys Illtyd. Gordon and Porter remained in the car.
Marcus Huntley (left), Melissa Quailey-Dashper (centre), and Jordan Mills-Smith (right) walk to 10 Llys Illtyd shortly before murdering Joanne Penney.(Image: South Wales Police)
Quailey-Dashper approached the front door and knocked. She was chosen to perform this task as it would not alert the occupants to potential trouble.
But behind her were Mills-Smith and Huntley – the latter of whom had armed himself with the handgun.
He was positioned on the left side of the left low-bearing outer porch wall standing on the pathway and facing toward the front door of 10 Llys Illtyd.
Huntley held the handgun in his right hand with his arm extended and pointing towards the front door of the property.
After knocking on the door Quailey-Dashper walked away as Huntley and Mills-Smith stepped forward.
Joanne opened the door and was immediately shot by Huntley.
Joanne Penney
The bullet struck her in the left side of the chest and penetrated her heart.
Joanne went back into the house and into the living room where Jade Williams and Suzanne Day were sitting. Katie Summers’ brother Shaun Summers was also in the house.
When she was later interviewed by the police Ms Day gave the following account.
She said: “There was a knock at the door. Joanne went to answer. There was a bang – Jo screamed [and] said she had been shot. She came up the stairs, across the living room, and fell onto the settee where herself and Jade [Williams] were sat.”
Ms Day, who appeared visibly distressed as she gave evidence at Cardiff Crown Court, told the officer how she had initially gone to answer the door herself but Miss Penney did so instead as she was closer.
Ms Day said once Miss Penney opened the door a gunshot was heard “straightaway” before Miss Penney screamed, said she had been shot, and fell onto the sofa right next to where Ms Day was sitting.
Marcus Huntley posing with the handgun he would later use to shoot and kill Joanne Penney(Image: South Wales Police)
At 6.10pm Jade Williams made the initial 999 call, which lasted a total of 24 minutes. She told the call handler: “She’s gone to the door, there’s a gunshot, she’s back inside, and she’s been shot…we just heard that she went to the front door and heard a shot.”
She told the operator Joanne did not appear to be breathing. She said there was no obvious serious bleeding but she had been shot in the middle of her chest.
As the handler told her to put Joanne on her back she passed the phone on to Shaun Summers.
The handler was heard asking Mr Summers and all those present if someone could treat Joanne by giving her chest compressions. Those present appeared to be panicking as the handler advised them how to conduct the chest compressions.
Mr Summers told the handler at one point: “She’s dead.”
The aftermath
When the emergency services arrived Joanne was found lying on the floor of the living room with a single gunshot wound to her left chest.
CPR was carried out and paramedics then attended followed by the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service.
Attempts were made to save Joanne’s life, including performing a resuscitative (clamshell) thoracotomy which revealed a bullet hole in her heart.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Marcus Huntley (left) and Jordan Mills-Smith (right) return to the Nissa Note after murdrering Joanne Penney.(Image: South Wales Police)
As Joanne lay dying Huntley, Mills-Smith, and Quailey-Dashper ran from the scene and got back into the Nissan, which was parked near the rear of Halfords.
Porter drove them back to Bryn Celyn in Cardiff and after dropping off Huntley and Mills-Smith he drove Quailey-Dashper and Gordon back to Leicester with Ginova driving back to Leicester separately.
Just 21 minutes after Joanne was shot Huntley took a selfie of himself on his phone making a gun gesture.
Marcus Huntley takes a selfie of himself making a gun gesture after murdering Joanne Penney.(Image: South Wales Police)
At 12.15am and 2am on March 10, 2025, there was phone contact between Gordon, Mills-Smith, Huntley and another man including a group call which lasted one hour and 30 minutes.
At around 1.20am Huntley telephoned a taxi driver again and was then collected with Mills-Smith from Bryn Celyn and taken to a gym in Llanishen.
Huntley was seen to get out holding a small bag. After a short while Mills-Smith requested the taxi driver to return and collect Huntley. Huntley was taken to his father’s home in St Mellons.
There were then two further group calls between Huntley, Mills-Smith, Gordon, and another man between 2am and 3am on March 10, 2025.
At 10.32am on March 10 Huntley took another taxi from Heritage Park to Cardiff Central Station.
He was wearing black joggers with a black hood pulled up. Huntley told the driver he was going to Leicester.
Melissa Quailey-Dashper returns to the Nissan Note after murdering Joanne Penney.(Image: South Wales Police)
The taxi driver later recalled Huntley seemed calm. Huntley was on his phone and was heard saying: “What do you mean you’ve sold my stuff? You best get it back.”
CCTV picked up Huntley at Cardiff Central Station boarding a train to Leicester. By now he had shaved his head.
On March 11, 2025, at 7.44pm Huntley texted a man complaining that he could not get hold of his passport.
He also exchanged a series of Snapchat messages with a woman explaining he was looking at a “long time in jail” because of “what happened in Talbot Green” if he could not get out of the country.
When the woman challenged him, saying: “You done that?’ That’s horrible”, Huntley merely shrugged off the murder of Ms Penney, calling her a “crackhead”.
Huntley sent a video message to the woman, saying: “She set up my runner…he got f****** raped, they put a gun in his mouth, they spooned his bum, they done mad s*** to him, they f****** terrorised him.”
Huntley also messaged someone called ‘tianna hkelis 24’ saying he needed to get back to Cardiff to get his passport then go straight to Heathrow and get on a flight to Thailand.
The court heard that in Leicester on the morning of March 10 Porter was captured on CCTV “thoroughly cleaning his car” between 11am and 12.15pm.
The outside of 10 Llys Illtyd, Talbot Green, where Joanne Penney was murdered.(Image: South Wales Police)
On the morning of March 11 CCTV captured the Volvo and Ginova in Leicestershire while Quailey-Dashper was seen entering a nearby shop and purchasing a sim card.
Mr Rees said at the trial, cell site evidence showed that at this time both Quailey-Dashper and Ginova triggered the same cell site.
The court heard comparison between call data records for Quailey-Dashper’s mobile provided by the service provider and the call logs recovered from the phone itself demonstrated that a series of call records between Quailey-Dashper and Ginova and Quailey-Dashper and Gordon on March 8, 9, and 10 had been erased from the phone.
The arrests
Gordon and Ginova were arrested at Alexandra Court, Oadby, Leicester, on March 10, 2025, just after 7pm.
Three mobile phones, a tablet, and Volvo car keys were seized from within the flat. A black Volvo was parked at the front of the premises.
Mr Rees said: “When Ginova was informed she was being arrested on suspicion of murder she replied that she did not do anything and could prove where she was.”
The court heard Ginova later said: “So, listen, I don’t want to cry here, but I’ve got nothing to do with it. The person who’s done it, his name’s Marcus, I don’t know if he’s been arrested or not already but he is the person who did that s***.
“I don’t know nothing about it. Literally I went to McDonald’s to get food with my friend who was with me. It was just us. We went to McDonald’s to get food and then when we got back, like, I just heard that he killed someone and, like, it weren’t even the right person.
“So when they, like, he’s saying he’s not talking to them, it’s not me he’s meeting like, so he never came to meet me or my boyfriend but he’s staying at that old’s person’s address. Have you got him now?
“But literally I was nothing to do with it like. You can see me on CCTV where I am, I am not, I got nothing to do with it, but I swear I haven’t. I’m just p***** off because (inaudible) and now I’m here.”
Porter was seen driving his Nissan Note in Leicester and stopped, then arrested, just after 9pm on March 10, 2025.
Quailey-Dashper was found in another car and was arrested just after 10pm on March 10.
When being booked into custody and when the circumstances for her arrest were explained to her she said: “I don’t even know who she is.”
Huntley was arrested on a National Express bus travelling to Cardiff on March 12, 2025, just after 12pm.
Huntley’s mobile phone was seized. He had a bag of clothing with him from which characteristic gunshot residue was recovered on a sock and a grey and black Monterrain hooded top.
On March 12, 2025, at around 6.30pm, Mills-Smith messaged his girlfriend.
The front door of 10 Llys Illtyd, Talbot Green, where Joanne Penney was murdered.(Image: South Wales Police)
He said: “Marcus got bagged…Tell (a woman) delete all her messages from me and to you and to my dad and nan as well.”
Mills-Smith’s phone was found to have recorded a journey from the M4 junction 13 to Victoria Coach Station on March 12, 2025.
A ticket had been bought in the name of Andre James – an account which Mills-Smith had set up that day.
A Trainline boarding pass from Liverpool Street Station to Stowmarket train station purchased at 8.30pm was also found on the phone.
On March 13 Mills-Smith messaged his girlfriend: “I know I f***ed up and I’m sorry. Just don’t abandon me please.”
Mr Rees said: “That night Mills-Smith researched the sentencing of another drugs-related murder case, searching for the name of one of the murderers and viewing the online headline: ‘Four killers jailed for public execution’.”
On March 14, at 10.54am, Mills-Smith’s girlfriend messaged him saying: “Ur last person anyone want to talk to cos u gone round talking so much.”
The handgun used by Marcus Huntley to murder Joanne Penney.(Image: South Wales Police)
At 6.36pm a contact messaged Mills-Smith: “You need to pahern … going to shout you later.” Mr Rees said “pahern” means “sort yourself out.”
The prosecutor said Mills-Smith replied with a “brag”.
The defendant said: “Too much money right now – Mr pay your dad’s wages B lool.”
Mills-Smith was arrested by police at 8.47pm on March 14, 2025, at an address in Stowmarket in Suffolk. His mobile phone was seized.
Forensic evidence
Pathologist Dr Richard Martin Jones said the wound in Joanne’s chest measured 0.7cm under the surface. There was no exit wound and a hole in the front of the heart.
Dr Jones said the bullet went through Joanne’s heart and into her left lung before lodging between two ribs.
The pathologist said it was “difficult to answer” a question about whether the gunshot did any damage to Joanne’s ribs because they were damaged during resuscitation attempts.
Dr Jones said the cause of death was “gunshot wound to the chest involving the heart and the left lung”.
The bullet entered Joanne’s chest 5.5cm to the left of the midline of her body. The wound track went backwards and slightly downwards, through the heart and the left lung, and the bullet lodged itself in the rear of the left chest between Joanne’s 10th and 11th ribs.
A package found in Heritage Park, St Mellons, Cardiff, which contained a handgun and ammunition hidden by Marcus Huntley.(Image: South Wales Police)
The cartridge case condition was most likely a result of being modified and loaded with an improvised bullet or projectile. The lead projectile was cylindrical in shape and was distorted in areas due to the result of impact.
It had a diameter of approximately 7mm and was 6.5mm in length. This type of projectile is not of common design, shape, size, or calibre and was non-commercially manufactured as an improvised projectile by way of smelting down lead metal and recasting in a bullet cast or an empty cartridge casing of similar calibre.
The projectile did not have any rifling marks and was most likely to have been fired from a smooth-bore barrel – a converted blank firing pistol.
Such a pistol was later recovered from Heritage Park, St Mellons, Cardiff, on April 17, 2025, together with more live ammunition.
The ammunition comprised 16 rounds of 8mm blank pistol cartridges, and were head stamped “8mmK-POBJEDA” – the same as the cartridge case found at the scene of the murder.
These blank cartridges had been modified at some point after manufacture by having been loaded with approximately 7mm lead bullets.
Handgun and ammunition used by Marcus Huntley to murder Joanne Penney.(Image: South Wales Police)
Videos and photographs were recovered from a mobile phone seized from Huntley. One video was created on March 10, 2025 at 10.27am – the morning after the day of the murder.
It was 40 seconds long and was taken in a wooded area. It showed movement along a narrow path through a wooded area which led to a residential street.
An intelligence analyst, Stephen Clee, produced a report of device locations and cell site.
Mr Rees said: “This helped police to identify a search area for the firearm. Using a metal detector police discovered a package wrapped in brown packaging tape hidden under soil and foliage next to a holly bush. When the package was opened the gun, within a green latex glove, and 16 bullets in a bag were discovered.”
Firearms expert Andrew Huxtable was asked to carry out a visual examination of an image on Huntley’s phone of Huntley holding an apparent firearm in his left hand and to provide his professional opinion regarding whether the pistol held by Huntley was the same as or similar to the recovered pistol.
Forensic crime scene investigators outside 10 Llys Illtyd, in Talbot Green.(Image: South Wales Police)
This video recovered from Huntley’s phone was eight seconds in duration. Its creation date was March 8, 2025, at 2.55pm. It begins in an indoor setting.
After four seconds the camera switches to the front or ‘selfie’ camera and Huntley looks into the camera. At six seconds Huntley holds up a firearm and shows it to the camera. He was wearing a black and red glove.
Mr Huxtable concluded the pistol held by Huntley had a barrel with similarity to the recovered firearm.
The grips, trigger, and hammer of the pistol were swabbed and subjected to DNA analysis. A mixed DNA profile was recovered indicating DNA from at least four people.
A bullet case found outside 10 Llys Illtyd, Talbot Green.(Image: South Wales Police)
Huntley’s DNA profile was almost fully represented in the profile recovered making it approximately 2,100,000 times more likely some of the DNA tested had originated from Huntley rather than if none of the DNA had originated from him.
Mr Rees said: “The pistol had been handled by Huntley.”
DNA was also recovered from a latex glove in which the gun had been placed and matched the profile with Huntley.
The trial
The trial of Marcus Huntley, Jordan Mills-Smith, Melissa Quailey-Dashper, Joshua Gordon, Kristina Ginova, and Tony Porter began at Cardiff Crown Court on October 22, 2025.
Concluding his opening of the case to the jury prosecutor Mr Rees said: “I repeat what I said earlier: the trigger in this case may have been pulled by Marcus Huntley. The prosecution case is each of Joshua Gordon, Marcus Huntley, Jordan Mills-Smith, Kristina Ginova, and Tony Porter are jointly responsible for her murder.
“They each played their part in the death of Joanne Penney knowing they were acting to bring about or assist or encourage others to bring about really serious injury to another person.”
On the second day of the trial Marcus Huntley caved in and changed his plea and admitted the murder of Joanne Penney. His co-defendants, however, held firm to their denials and went through a lengthy trial that straddled the Christmas and New Year break.
The jury retired to deliberate and reached their verdicts on Friday, January 30.
Jordan Mills-Smith, Joshua Gordon, Melissa Quailey-Dashper and Kristina Ginova were found guilty of murder.
Tony Porter was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.
Gordon, Ginova, Quailey-Dashper and Porter were found guilty or participating in the activity of an organised crime group, with Mills-Smith and Huntley having already pleaded guilty to the charge.
The case will return to court on Friday, February 6, for a date to be set when all six defendants will be sentenced.
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