Tyson Fury found out close family member had been murdered on harrowing phone call which changed his life

Rico Burton was fatally stabbed in Altrincham in August 2022.

Tyson Fury found out one of his close family members had been killed via phone call in 2022.

Fury’s cousin, Rico Burton, was fatally stabbed at the age of 31 in Altrincham in August 2022.

Liam O’Pray, 22, was convicted of murder last August and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 28 years.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Burton was stabbed in his neck by a seven-inch blade, which almost completely severed a major artery.

A second victim, Harvey Reilly, told the court that he suffered a 30cm-long wound to his chest and a slash wound to his arm from his elbow to his wrist, and underwent major surgery to repair veins, muscles and tendons.

Tyson Fury’s cousin Rico Burton pictured (Image: Facebook)

Fury posted a tribute to his cousin on Instagram shortly after he was killed, writing: “Life is very precious and it can be taken away very quick enjoy every moment… RIP Rico Burton may the lord God grant you a good place in heaven. See you soon.”

He also wrote: “This is becoming ridiculous idiots carry knives. This needs to stop asap. UK government needs to bring in higher sentencing for knife crime, it’s a pandemic and you don’t know how bad it is until it’s one of your own!”

‘The Gypsy King’ spoke about the moment he was told of his cousin’s death in his documentary ‘At Home With The Furys’ last year.

Fury revealed that he and wife Paris were in Majorca, watching the heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk, when the murder took place.

Tyson Fury and wife Paris pictured (Image: Getty)
He explained: “Last night I was on a high after the Usyk fight.

“We had a great party, me and Paris were dancing. It was a great night.

“Then this morning I got a phone call telling me my cousin Rico has been killed. It’s like someone took the plug out of me and all the life had come out of me.

“Rico had a whole lot of life to live and now he’s finished. Shocking news.

“Me and Rico are really close. We trained at the same boxing club together. We used to play up and down when we were small kids, hide and seek, building dens. Precious moments.”