Two men deny murder after a 26-year-old man was stabbed to death in Sheffield

Sheffield Crown Court heard during the beginning of a trial on March 16 how Louis James, aged 47, of Manor Lane, Sheffield, and Dereck Owusu, aged 39, of Strathmore Grove, at Wath-upon-Dearne, near Rotherham, allegedly attacked 26-year-old Reece Radford on Arundel Gate, Sheffield, before he suffered a fatal stab wound through his chest and heart.

Prosecuting barrister David Temkin KC claimed: “In the early hours of a September night, last year, in Sheffield city centre, a man was beaten and stabbed. His names was Reece Radford and he was 26 years of age and Mr Radford’s injuries were to prove fatal.

"These two defendants were jointly responsible for Mr Radford’s death. The prosecution say that they attacked Mr Radford together intending to kill him. Together, they punched him. Together, they kicked him and when they were still acting together, one of them stabbed him in the heart. Accordingly, the prosecution say that both of these defendants are guilty of murder.”

Mr Temkin claims Reece Radford had intervened between Mr James and Mr Owusu and a 17-year-old girl near a bus stop on Arundel Gate on September 29, 2022, after the girl had allegedly punched one of the two defendants before Mr Owusu allegedly punched her to the ground.

Mr Radford then punched Mr Owusu, according to Mr Temkin who also claimed Mr James and Mr Owusu subsequently began fighting Mr Radford and witnesses saw punches being thrown and heard arguing.

Mr Temkin claimed the fight moved into the middle of the road as Mr Radford’s friend Paul Taylor came over and Mr Radford fell to the ground and he was allegedly kicked by both defendants but he managed to get up.

Mr Temkin also claimed: “The violence did not last very long. It seemed to stop suddenly. None of the prosecution witnesses saw a knife but it’s perfectly clear that a knife was used on Mr Radford by one of the defendants. Mr Radford crossed over the road at that point and he fell to the ground a second time collapsing onto the pavement and it was obvious he was very badly injured. In fact, he told his friend Paul Taylor he had been stabbed.”

The court heard both defendants left the scene but returned and one witness claimed to have seen Mr Owusu whipping his belt in the air as he had allegedly tried to strike Mr Taylor before they walked away.

Mr Temkin said the girl and others tried to help Mr Radford before police and the emergency services arrived and he was taken to hospital where he underwent surgery but later died on October 4 and a post mortem examination recorded the cause of death as a stab wound to the chest.

Police had found Mr Radford unconscious and one of the officers described that Mr Radford was ‘ashen-faced’ and even though his eyes were open they were unresponsive.

Mr Temkin said that medical evidence confirmed a blade had penetrated Mr Radford’s chest with a six-centimetre deep wound which had gone into his heart.

The court heard how the incident was captured by CCTV and camera operators helped police trace the defendants and Mr James was arrested on Haymarket, near the Shoe Zone shop, and Mr Owusu was arrested on Flat Street and was allegedly found to have Mr Radford’s wallet.

Mr James claimed to police Mr Radford had been with a group asking for drugs and Mr Radford had allegedly made a racist comment and after Mr James had seen Mr Owusu and the girl wrestling Mr Radford had attacked both him and Mr Owusu.

He also told police he had to defend himself and he thought Mr Radford was going to take a knife from his bag and that they started fighting but claimed he did not stab him or see him being stabbed and Mr Owusu had swung his belt to scare others away.

Mr Temkin said Mr James believed Mr Radford was about to use a knife so this defendant allegedly took out a knife in self-defence but he has no memory of using it and he clams he cannot say how Mr Radford was stabbed.

Police later found a knife with an 8cm long blade in a drain on Shude Hill under a bridge, near an Ibis Hotel, according to Mr Temkin, which he claimed had been used to stab Mr Radford and had allegedly been dropped down the drain by Mr James.

The court heard that Mr Owusu also denies any responsibility for the alleged murder and claims he did not stab Mr Radford and that he is not jointly responsible for his death and he had not been aware of any knife or that Mr Radford had been stabbed.

However, Mr Temkin said: “The prosecution say that both these defendants – acting together – murdered Reece Radford.”

Mr James and Mr Owusu have both pleaded not guilty to murdering Reece Radford. The trial continues.