‘I’m labelled as this ****ing killer and it’s not me’ – Sam Davies murder accused denies any involvement

A man accused of murdering Sam Davies in Lincoln has denied any involvement in the fatal stabbing, a trial heard on Friday.

The prosecution case is that Eimantas Gochman, who was 19 at the time of the attack on May 27 last year, was hired to carry out the hit on Mr Davies. Gochman is one of seven defendants on trial for murder.

The 23-year-old victim was stabbed twice in a park between Coleridge Gardens and Browning Drive at about 10.45pm and died hours later in hospital.

In police interviews read out to the jury at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, January 28, detectives put to Gochman that there was a lot of contact between a mobile number associated with him and co-defendant Joe Jameson’s mobile in the minutes after the stabbing.

Earlier that day, Jameson had demanded to know from Mr Davies’ partner where he was because he wanted to kill him.

A detective said to Gochman: “We’re saying that after the stabbing, you’ve contacted Joe Jameson.”

Gochman, who denied the number was his, said: “Yeah, but you believe I killed someone, which is not true.”

In a later interview on May 31, Gochman is told that Mr Davies’ mobile phone had been found a few feet away from a knife they believe was used in the attack.

“Is it likely your DNA will be on that phone?” the suspect is asked. Gochman replied: “There’s no way.”

It was put to him that co-defendant Eric Kesel told detectives that he’d heard Gochman dumped the knife.

Gochman said: “I’m just labelled as this ****ing killer and it’s completely not me. It’s just not nice, it’s not nice.”

A message with a bunch of flowers left at the scene reads “Too young to be gone. RIP”. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Gochman said he had been at The Lincoln Imp pub with friends until about 9pm, then went home to get changed and on to co-defendant Charlie Wakefield’s.

He’d then spent the whole night there before having to contact his mum in the morning to get him to work in Newark.

He said he was late to work, felt rough and got his mum to pick him up before lunchtime.

Police interviews with Wakefield were also read out to the court on Friday. He told detectives that he was on a curfew tag so had to be at home between 7pm and 7am.

He said Gochman had called him from the pub at about 8.45pm on the day of the stabbing to ask if could come round for a spliff. Wakefield had said that was fine.

Wakefield said Gochman called again about ten minutes later to say he was leaving the pub at that point and was going home first to get changed.

Gochman called one further time to check it was still ok, about a minute before he arrived at Wakefield’s home in Broxholme Gardens.

According to Wakefield, neither of them left the house again before Gochman’s mum picked up her son at about 8am the following morning to take him to work.

Wakefield said in the interviews that a 17-year-old co-defendant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, also spent the night with them and was sent out in a taxi to buy weed from a friend of Wakefield’s.

Flowers left in tribute of Lincoln stabbing victim Sam Davies. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Wakefield said co-defendant Eric Kesel told him on May 28 there was “armed police, CID, forensics, everything” on Browning Drive.

The detectives were told by Wakefield he went for a look and was told by a police officer at a cordon that there had been a stabbing. Kesel had arrived there moments later, jokingly calling him “PC Wakefield” and the police officer made a comment about the surname.

Then, later in the day, when Wakefield found out Kesel had been arrested, he said he started “panicking” that he would be “dragged into it”. He admitted making a quick internet search about being an accessory to a crime.

Wakefield said Gochman had been “calm” when he arrived and they had drunk beer, smoked and played Fifa.

He said: “I’m not being funny but if he came round my yard and said ‘Oh, I’ve just done this murder’, I’ll go in the next room and I’ll ring the ****ing police myself. **** that.”

All seven defendants face one count of murder, which they all deny. They are Billy Gill, 21, of Hatcliffe Gardens; Daniel Heydari, 25, of Chestnut Street; Joe Jameson, 24, of Whitehall Terrace; Eimantas Gochman, 20, of Sturton Close; Eric Kesel, 19, of Browning Drive; and Charlie Wakefield, 21, of Broxholme Gardens. A 17-year-old boy cannot be legally identified due to his age. Jameson is also accused of making a threat to kill, which he denies.

The trial continues.

Read more from the trial:

• Seven appear in court over Sam Davies murder case
• Lincoln stabbing victim Sam Davies killed in ‘planned’ hit, court hears
• Sam Davies murder trial hears of £20k bounty after victim robbed drug dealer
• CCTV shown to court in Sam Davies murder trial
• Sam Davies murder squad found ’16-inch Rambo 3 movie style’ knife, trial told
• “Snitch” teenage murder suspect told police he watched Sam Davies killing, trial hears