January 25, 2022 6.15 pm This story is over 26 months old

Sam Davies murder squad found ’16-inch Rambo 3 movie style’ knife, trial told

One defendant searched: “How long do you get for being an accessory to a murder?”
Sam Davies, 23, was killed in a stabbing at Coleridge Gardens in Lincoln. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police

A 20-year-old man among seven people accused of fatally stabbing Sam Davies in Lincoln had twice bought knives from an online shop in the preceding months, a jury heard on Tuesday.

Eimantas Gochman is one of seven Lincoln males accused of murdering Mr Davies in late May 2021.

Det Insp Jennifer Lovatt, giving evidence at Nottingham Crown Court, said data from Gochman’s
phone showed Google searches made on May 5 last year.

One was for “prepper shops” with a link to an online shop selling weaponry and knives, said the detective.

William Harbage QC, prosecuting, referred to a knife which was allegedly used in the killing.

He asked the witness: “Did you investigate whether that knife could be obtained through the [shop] website?”

Det Insp Lovatt replied that she had, adding: “I found one that matched the knife that had been recovered in the enquiry and it was a Rambo 3 movie style fixed blade knife.”

The court heard it was 16in long with a 11in blade.

The detective inspector said she had contacted the shop and been provided with copies of two order forms, both from Gochman. One was dated November 2020 for a hunting knife and a survival knife, each priced £9.99, and linked to an address in Lincoln.

The other dated March 2021 showed Gochman’s current address in Sturton Close and was for two
long-reach machetes at £14.99 each.

In cross-examination, Gochman’s barrister Gordon Aspden QC said: “[The manager] was asked if
[Gochman] had ever bought from them a Rambo 3 knife. What was the response?”

Det Insp Lovatt replied: “He could find no record of a Rambo 3 knife being purchased by Mr
Gochman.”

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

The detective also gave evidence about her investigation of the meaning and context of the slang word “dip” which was found in messages between some of the defendants.

A Snapchat message between Daniel Heydari and Billy Gill referred to “dip someone up”.

Det Insp Lovatt said she checked the top four results in a Google search and all contained references to dip meaning stab. She added that one of the dictionaries also made reference to it meaning rob.

Paul Hynes QC, defending Gill, challenged the detective over the depth of her investigation into the word and the website sources she had used.

“Did you think to use something more traditional, an orthodox dictionary like the Oxford English Dictionary?” he asked.

“No, because the way the words were phrased it appeared to me to be slang, rather than orthodox,” replied Det Insp Lovatt.

Referencing one of the detective’s sources, Mr Hynes said: “The dictionary.com definition says ‘dip’ as in stab is used occasionally and is derived from black American slang, not white boys in Lincoln.”

The witness accepted his suggestion it would have been fairer to include that detail.

Gill said in a statement that he understood dip to mean rob. Mr Tyne said another definition on urbandictionary.com, which had been used by the detective, was “punched”.

She denied that her statements were either misleading or incomplete.

Flowers and a teddy left on the railings near the scene where Sam Davies was killed. | Photo: The Lincolnite

The jury was also taken through some of the material gathered from defendants’ phones or their
network providers.

About an hour after Mr Davies was stabbed on parkland between Browning Drive and Coleridge
Gardens at about 10.45pm on May 27, Charlie Wakefield searched for “live news Lincoln”.

At 5.26am the following day he searched for “Lincoln crime news” and five hours later “Lincoln crime news latest”.

At 10.18pm he searched for “Lincoln police news stabbing St Giles”.

And at 8.51pm on May 29 it was “how long do you get for being an accessory to a murder?”

The previous day – eight hours after the stabbing – Wakefield’s phone had been used to send messages in Lithuanian to Gochman’s mother’s phone.

The defendants all deny one count of murder.

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.