Richard Dentith: Killer to spend 14 years behind bars for murder - and he can now be named as Yaqeen Arshad

Reporting restriction lifted

And for the first time, The Star can name the killer as Yaqeen Arshad, of De La Salle Drive, Pitsmoor, Sheffield.

After court reporter Jon Cooper applied for reporting restrictions to be lifted, Judge Sarah Wright agreed with The Star and the teenager can now be named.

‘You pursued him running after him armed with a knife’

Judge Wright said he must serve a minimum of 14 years behind bars for the murder of Richard Dentith, who was fondly known as ‘Ricky’ to those close to him. This means Arshad could be released by the time he is 31, the same age Mr Dentith was when the teen killer fatally stabbed him in the arm during a violent confrontration on Grimesthorpe Road, Burngreave in the early hours of April 7, 2022.

Describing the circumstances of the confrontation, Judge Wright told Arshad: “31-year-old Richard Dentith walked past you as you and your friend stood in a bus shelter on Grimesthorpe Road and continued down the hill...For some reason as Richard Dentith made his way down the hill you pursued him, running after him armed with a knife.

“The CCTV from the mosque on Grimesthorpe Road showed that you appear to lunge at Richard Dentith as he disappeared behind a pillar. You clearly deliberately thrust the knife into and indeed through his arm possibly then making contact with his chest. He ran away pursued by you down the hill.

“He fell and you overshot, but then turned round and you continued to try to attack him. He managed to get by you but had been fatally injured. He collapsed on steps outside the Earl Marshall Guest House. The stab wound to the arm had severed the brachial artery and cut part of the cartilage and so would have required at least moderate force. He suffered catastrophic blood loss from the wound and he bled to death.”

A post-mortem examination subsequently concluded Richard, fondly known as ‘Ricky,’ had died of a single stab wound, jurors heard during the trial.

Arshad was subsequently charged with his murder, but denied the charge; however jurors found him guilty of Mr Dentith’s murder last week, following a 10-day trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

The Star applied for a reporting restriction, which would have protected the boy’s identity until he reaches 18, to be lifted and the application was granted.

‘He was hard working, a caring father’

Gut-wrenching statements from Mr Dentith’s father, Alan, and his former partner, Nicole Flannery, with whom he has a young son, that were read to the court during the course of the March 20 hearing at Sheffield Crown Court laid bare the devastating consequences his death continues to have.

Ms Flannery said their child continues to have nightmares and has started to sleepwalk in response to learning he will never see his father again, and is about to mark his first birthday without him.

Paying tribute to his son, Alan Dentith said in a statement: “Ricky had many obstacles to overcome in his life and he struggled at times. However, he was to us, first and foremost, a much-loved son, brother and father. He had three main loves in his life, his young son, sport, and cooking delicious food. He was hard working, a caring father, skilled sportsman and a talented chef.”

Alan Dentith also stated that he takes ‘no comfort’ in Arshad being at court to answer for his son’s death, because it means another man’s life has been lost and his family too have been left in turmoil.

Killer functions in a ‘similar manner to a child in an infant school’

Judge Wright referred to a report prepared Consultant Psychologist, Graham Rogers, in which he concluded that Arshad has a borderline disorder of intellectual development with a specific focus on inconsistent understanding of

language.

She told him: “You function at an age much younger than your chronological age. The results of his tests showed a level of functioning at or below the level of the average child aged eight years.

“That indicates that you function in a similar manner to a child in an infant school where reasoning, problem solving and decision-making will be severely impaired when compared to the ‘normal range’ of age

appropriate peers. He concludes that this leaves you open to exploitation and vulnerable to the attentions of others.”

Judge Wright said that while Arshad had armed himself with a knife and made the decision to pursue Mr Dentith as he walked alone, in her judgement, his ‘intent to cause really serious harm’ was formed close to the commission of the offence.

“It is probable that you were handed the knife by someone who was older than you. You may well have been influenced to carry out the stabbing,” Judge Wright said, adding that she had concluded that Arshad’s culpability for Mr Dentith’s murder had been reduced by his ‘mental disorder,’ his developmental and emotional age and her determination that his conduct ‘may well have been affected by negative impulses’.

Speaking after Arshad’s conviction, Detective Inspector John Fitzgibbons, leading the investigation, said: “This was an awful attack and is a stark reminder of the reality of knife crime and how one man’s life can be lost and a family’s hearts broken just from one stab wound. Knife crime remains one of our biggest priorities. “A team of detectives have put a huge amount of work into this case to make sure Richard’s murderer was brought to justice. “The killer has not taken any responsibility for his actions and told numerous lies throughout this whole process, including blaming the victim for causing his own death and stating he was the ‘aggressor’.

“He declined to comment throughout his interview but later gave one account in his defence statement which he then backtracked on when giving evidence.

"Our thoughts remain with Richard’s family who are understandably still devastated and have had to endure an 10 day trial after the teenager pleaded not guilty.”