A teenager jointly accused of murdering Sam Davies in Lincoln has wrongly been characterised as ‘the stabber’s little helper’, his barrister says.
In his closing speech on behalf of the 17-year-old defendant, who cannot legally be identified due to his age, Andrew Campbell-Tiech QC said the youth could be “deleted” from the case and it would not have affected the outcome – the killing of Mr Davies on the St Giles estate in Lincoln last year.
The youth was captured on CCTV walking from and to a taxi in Coleridge Gardens at about the time of the attack in an adjoining park.
The prosecution says he was there to watch and report back to fellow defendant Charlie Wakefield, who was on a 7pm-7am home curfew at the time.
The youth’s case is that his presence was coincidental as he had been sent there by Wakefield to buy cocaine from another defendant, Eric Kesel.
Addressing the jury at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday, April 4, Mr Campbell-Tiech said the prosecution painting the youth as “Goch’s little helper” was “absurd” as there had been no communication between Gochman and the boy before the stabbing and very little between Gochman and Wakefield.
The barrister said if the boy was “a helper” why had he not gone to the scene in Gochman’s taxi for the scheduled attack time of 10pm.
“Where is Goch’s little helper? He’s at the Co-op,” he added.
The jury was reminded that the victim’s arrival time at the Browning Drive entrance to the park was 10:46:11pm.
Mr Campbell-Tiech said going by the six CCTV clips of his client walking towards the park – and ignoring the prosecution’s suggestion that he was running at other times – the boy would have left its Coleridge Gardens entrance between 10.46.16pm and 10.46.21pm.
During his speech, Mr Campbell-Tiech gave the jury 14 mnemonics – “trigger words” – to remind members of the case against his lay client.
One was “delete the defendant”.
He said: “Just imagine that Eimantas Gochman had gone to watch a football match in London that day.
“What effect would there have been on the events of May 27?
“Sam Davies would not have died.
“Just imagine that [the boy] simply didn’t exist at all. What difference would it have made to the outcome of May 27?
“Absolutely none. Sam Davies would have died [as a result of the attack] whether [the boy] existed or not.
“That is a powerful indication as to his role – a role that is wholly inessential to the purpose or outcome.”
During the trial, the jury heard the boy immediately lied following his arrest on June 16.
He told police that he had not been at the scene but Wakefield had and he claimed Wakefield had given Gochman gloves outside a Co-op a couple of hours before the stabbing. Both statements were later proved to be wrong.
Wakefield assaulted the boy following a court appearance last December.
All seven defendants face one count of murder, which they all deny. They are Billy Gill, 21, of Hatcliffe Gardens; Eimantas Gochman, 20, of Sturton Close; Daniel Heydari, 25, of Chestnut Street; Joe Jameson, 24, of Whitehall Terrace; 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 Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The final in the latest series of road closures for works on the A1, as part of the Grantham Southern Relief Road project, has been temporarily postponed
A weekend northbound A1 closure was due to be in place between 8pm on Friday, May 20 and 6am on Monday, May 23.
However, Lincolnshire County Council said the closure has been temporarily postponed and once new dates have been confirmed they will be shared.
Works on phase three began in April this year, with the council anticipating that winter 2023 will be the completion date for the relief road.
This will be with the view to reduce congestion and carbon emissions, and provide opportunities for growth in the local economy.
The £102 million Grantham Southern Relief Road project has been led by Lincolnshire County Council, supported by South Kesteven District Council, Highways England, Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Network Rail, Homes England, the Department for Transport and local business contributions.
Safety improvements have been carried out at corner where numerous accidents have occurred in East Keal.
The council is looking into what else can be done to prevent motorists from coming off the road at Hall Corner, while police are looking into the possibility of fitting a speed camera.
A cement lorry recently overturned on the corner in February.
Lincolnshire County Council has found a slight dip in the road where Blacksmith Lane meets the A16 could be the reason why heavy vehicles travelling at excessive speed are tipping over.
It is considering whether to smooth out and realign the road, but says it is concious of the impact that closing the A16 would have on traffic and local businesses.
Several safety improvement measures have already been put in place, including ‘slow’ markings, enhanced bend warning signs and improved chevrons.
Problems have been found with the road surface on the corner. | Photo: Google Street View
Lincolnshire Police are assessing whether a speed camera on the corner would be beneficial, and will be taking speed readings in the coming weeks.
Larger barriers and longer safety fencing have been proposed by the public. However, the county council says that in order for it to be big enough to withstand the impact of overturned vehicles, the cost can’t be justified.
Either the local parish council or the country council could also explore whether to fund a reactive speed sign on the location.
Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: “We are very thankful to the residents and members of the parish council who have given us their ideas and support in what can be done at Hall Corner. Local knowledge and personal feedback are cornerstones of what we do in terms of delivering the best solutions in the most informed way.
“There has already been much done at this bend to try and mitigate the issues faced and we now have more planned for this particular area that will go on to encourage all road users to drive accordingly in line with the road and conditions.
“I would like to thank everyone involved so far for their input. We will all work together to get the best resolution we can for Hall Corner.”