MURDERS, stabbings, drugs busts and an armed city centre siege.

No, that's not a typical Oxford Mail night out – those are some of the grizzly cases our reporters have covered from Oxford's courts this year.

During 2019 Oxford Crown Court and Oxford Magistrates' Court have seen convicted killers, drugs bosses and petty criminals from burglars to fraudsters to drink drivers.

Below we look at some of the cases which captured the public's attention this year.

• June 15: Oxford school hired Spanish killer Gonzalez as teaching assistant

In an exclusive story that made global headlines, the Mail revealed how a murderer jailed for the gruesome killing of a teenager went on to teach children at an Oxford primary school without disclosing her dark past.

Iria Suarez-Gonzalez became one of Spain’s most notorious killers after she and a friend were convicted of the savage murder of a schoolgirl in 2000.

Years later the 35-year-old of Botley Road, Oxford, went on to become a teaching assistant at West Oxford Primary School.

After her deception came to light she was charged with fraud by false representation for not disclosing the murder as a previous conviction in her initial job application to the school.

At a hearing at Oxford Crown Court in June, however, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case altogether, accepting that there was 'no evidence' to convict her.

Read the full story again here.

• June 24: Man who sparked terror in Paradise Square siege is sentenced

A gunman who fired shots at police and passers-by from a city centre balcony was jailed for six years and was also ordered to serve a four-year period of extended licence in June.

Duncan Shearman, of Paradise Square, Oxford, brought the centre of Oxford to a standstill when he began pointing an 'arsenal' of weapons on May 7, 2018, and firing round after round.

At his sentencing at Oxford Crown Court Judge Maria Lamb called the 26-year old's behaviour that day 'erratic'.

Read the full report from court.

• August 30: Jordan Anderson given life in jail after Co-Op stabbing.

A man who stabbed his ex-partner 15 times in a 'terrible and frenzied' attack was jailed for life.

Jordan Anderson tried to murder Aleah Masih after she had gone to pick up their daughter in Headington on the afternoon of March 12 this year.

The knife attack, described by prosecutors as 'brutal and ferocious', took place while their five-year-old child clung to her mother's hand outside the London Road Co Op.

Read the full report from court here.

• November 25: Men convicted of Southfield Road murder sentenced.

A gang of killers who hunted a young father on Oxford's streets before running him down in a car and repeatedly stabbing him were jailed.

The public gallery at Oxford Crown Court was packed as three men convicted of killing Luciano Dos Santos Almeida were sentenced.

Speaking after the hearing Mr Almeida's mother described him as the 'most beautiful gift.'

An Oxford murder: The full story of Luciano Dos Santos Almeida's death.

• December 16: Fatos Xheta jailed for life over 'savage' murder of wife.

A man who 'almost decapitated' his wife in a 'truly savage' attack sobbed with his head in hands as he was handed a life sentence for her murder.

Fatos Xheta rocked back and forth in the dock throughout his sentencing hearing at Oxford Crown Court.

The 46-year-old repeatedly stabbed Safie Xheta at the home the couple shared in Lytton Road, Oxford, on June 17 this year before placing a gag in his mouth and turning the knife on himself.

Read again: The full story from his sentencing hearing.