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| Two guilty of murdering footballer Cody Fisher in Crane nightclub stabbing | Two guilty of murdering footballer Cody Fisher in Crane nightclub stabbing |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Cody Fisher was stabbed with a zombie knife on the dance floor of Crane in December 2022 | Cody Fisher was stabbed with a zombie knife on the dance floor of Crane in December 2022 |
| Two men have been found guilty of murdering a footballer, stabbed to death on the dance floor of a nightclub. | Two men have been found guilty of murdering a footballer, stabbed to death on the dance floor of a nightclub. |
| Cody Fisher, 23, was attacked by a masked group at the Crane club in Birmingham on 26 December 2022, in front of more than 2,000 people. | Cody Fisher, 23, was attacked by a masked group at the Crane club in Birmingham on 26 December 2022, in front of more than 2,000 people. |
| Remy Gordon, 23, and Kami Carpenter, 22, were convicted of murder at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday. | Remy Gordon, 23, and Kami Carpenter, 22, were convicted of murder at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday. |
| Mr Fisher's mother Tracey described her son's killers as "evil". | |
| The weapon - a zombie knife - was left buried in his chest. It had been smuggled into the club, the court heard, with prosecutors describing cursory security checks on the night. | |
| As well as being a semi-professional footballer, Mr Fisher had taught PE in schools and his mother said he had loved teaching young children. | |
| "He had more living to do and so much more love and kindness to give to the world," she said. | |
| "It beggars belief that the evilness and the cowardliness of those individuals, that did that to him for nothing and they didn't even know him, who does that?" Mrs Fisher said. | |
| A third defendant Reegan Anderson, 19, was found not guilty of murderafter the 10-week trial. | |
| CCTV footage shows the build up and aftermath of Cody Fisher's stabbing | CCTV footage shows the build up and aftermath of Cody Fisher's stabbing |
| CCTV footage shows the build up and aftermath of Cody Fisher's stabbing | CCTV footage shows the build up and aftermath of Cody Fisher's stabbing |
| The court heard Mr Fisher made "unavoidable" contact with Gordon in a trivial incident at Popworld, a busy bar in Solihull on Christmas Eve, which led to him trying to track him down. | |
| Prosecutor Michael Duck KC told jurors there was "no doubt" Gordon was looking for trouble and wanted Mr Fisher to apologise and "seek his forgiveness". | |
| But he was not going to apologise because he had done nothing wrong, he said. | |
| Less than an hour after the encounter that night in Popworld, Gordon sent messages in a Snapchat group he was in with several friends appealing for help to identify Mr Fisher and threatened to "shank him up". | Less than an hour after the encounter that night in Popworld, Gordon sent messages in a Snapchat group he was in with several friends appealing for help to identify Mr Fisher and threatened to "shank him up". |
| "Who knows this likkle pip squeeze [sic]?" he posted with a photograph and arrow pointing to Mr Fisher, along with comments of "man think he's bad" and "posh yout". | "Who knows this likkle pip squeeze [sic]?" he posted with a photograph and arrow pointing to Mr Fisher, along with comments of "man think he's bad" and "posh yout". |
| 'I needed to tell him I loved him as he lay dying' | 'I needed to tell him I loved him as he lay dying' |
| Mr Duck said Gordon, of Cofton Park Drive, Birmingham, was "set on retribution" and that "ultimately was to lead to the loss of Cody Fisher's young life in the Crane nightclub". | Mr Duck said Gordon, of Cofton Park Drive, Birmingham, was "set on retribution" and that "ultimately was to lead to the loss of Cody Fisher's young life in the Crane nightclub". |
| Jurors were told of other messages in the defendants' Snapchat group in the days before the Crane event in which Gordon and Carpenter talked about whether masks could be worn and if weapons could be taken inside the club. | Jurors were told of other messages in the defendants' Snapchat group in the days before the Crane event in which Gordon and Carpenter talked about whether masks could be worn and if weapons could be taken inside the club. |
| Remy Gordon (left) and Kami Carpenter had both denied charges of murder and affray | Remy Gordon (left) and Kami Carpenter had both denied charges of murder and affray |
| Mr Fisher, a former Birmingham City FC academy member who had also played for a number of non-league Midlands clubs, including Bromsgrove Sporting and Stratford Town, had gone to the Digbeth nightclub with his girlfriend, best friend Dan Vann and others to see a DJ they liked. | Mr Fisher, a former Birmingham City FC academy member who had also played for a number of non-league Midlands clubs, including Bromsgrove Sporting and Stratford Town, had gone to the Digbeth nightclub with his girlfriend, best friend Dan Vann and others to see a DJ they liked. |
| Sam Newey, a close friend of Mr Fisher, who had met Gordon some six months earlier, told jurors how he had tried to persuade Mr Fisher to leave Crane, after seeing Gordon and several others wearing ski masks and balaclavas several hours before the attack. | Sam Newey, a close friend of Mr Fisher, who had met Gordon some six months earlier, told jurors how he had tried to persuade Mr Fisher to leave Crane, after seeing Gordon and several others wearing ski masks and balaclavas several hours before the attack. |
| He said Gordon had asked him "is your boy Cody here?" and he replied he was not. However, Mr Newey said he became concerned "we were going to be outnumbered and obviously potentially get hurt". | He said Gordon had asked him "is your boy Cody here?" and he replied he was not. However, Mr Newey said he became concerned "we were going to be outnumbered and obviously potentially get hurt". |
| Shortly after 23:30 GMT, up to 10 men approached Mr Fisher who was standing with his girlfriend Jess Chatwin and best friend Dan Vann. | Shortly after 23:30 GMT, up to 10 men approached Mr Fisher who was standing with his girlfriend Jess Chatwin and best friend Dan Vann. |
| Mr Vann told the court the "large crowd" with masks "up to their noses" asked Mr Fisher to go outside before one headbutted him, knocking "his head backwards" before punches were then thrown. | Mr Vann told the court the "large crowd" with masks "up to their noses" asked Mr Fisher to go outside before one headbutted him, knocking "his head backwards" before punches were then thrown. |
| He then fell to the floor after being stabbed in the chest and leg. CPR was administered by security staff, but the blade had penetrated the main valve to his heart, a post-mortem examination later showed. | He then fell to the floor after being stabbed in the chest and leg. CPR was administered by security staff, but the blade had penetrated the main valve to his heart, a post-mortem examination later showed. |
| Remy Gordon shared this image with friends to track down Mr Fisher, the court heard | Remy Gordon shared this image with friends to track down Mr Fisher, the court heard |
| His killers left the event, but just 45 minutes later, CCTV showed Gordon "mocking and smiling" about the stabbing, the court heard. | His killers left the event, but just 45 minutes later, CCTV showed Gordon "mocking and smiling" about the stabbing, the court heard. |
| He went to a pizza takeaway where he was seen on cameras smiling as he made a kicking motion "and repeating what had taken place". | He went to a pizza takeaway where he was seen on cameras smiling as he made a kicking motion "and repeating what had taken place". |
| Carpenter, of no fixed address, who left the club in his Audi with a friend, admitted to him he had stabbed an individual in the chest and left the weapon at the scene, the jury heard. | Carpenter, of no fixed address, who left the club in his Audi with a friend, admitted to him he had stabbed an individual in the chest and left the weapon at the scene, the jury heard. |
| He arrived there in different clothes and bought a pizza an hour after the murder. | He arrived there in different clothes and bought a pizza an hour after the murder. |
| The group Snapchat also contained messages from their associates saying the club had been taped off and "man says he's dead" with another replying "he is" and "Ah, good he's deffo dead". | The group Snapchat also contained messages from their associates saying the club had been taped off and "man says he's dead" with another replying "he is" and "Ah, good he's deffo dead". |
| In a social media post on 24 December, Kami Carpenter told friends he was trying to get a knife into a different pub | In a social media post on 24 December, Kami Carpenter told friends he was trying to get a knife into a different pub |
| Mr Newey had also told jurors how Gordon had rung him after the stabbing and said during a nine-minute call: "Literally instantly, the first thing he said was 'I am not going to lie, I have just banged both your boys out.'" | Mr Newey had also told jurors how Gordon had rung him after the stabbing and said during a nine-minute call: "Literally instantly, the first thing he said was 'I am not going to lie, I have just banged both your boys out.'" |
| He said Gordon, of Cofton Park Drive, Birmingham,said he had "just wrapped up Cody and wrapped up Dan, knocked 'em both clean out'....they are not awake'." | |
| The case was brought as a joint enterprise prosecution where more than one person can be prosecuted for a murder if they were involved and had foreseen that Mr Fisher might be killed or seriously hurt. | The case was brought as a joint enterprise prosecution where more than one person can be prosecuted for a murder if they were involved and had foreseen that Mr Fisher might be killed or seriously hurt. |
| But in court Gordon blamed Carpenter for the stabbing and Carpenter blamed him. Anderson said he had no idea anyone had a knife. | But in court Gordon blamed Carpenter for the stabbing and Carpenter blamed him. Anderson said he had no idea anyone had a knife. |
| Gordon and Anderson, from Erdington, were also convicted of affray in relation to an attack after the stabbing on Mr Vann. | |
| Carpenter, of Owens Croft, Kings Norton, who was found guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to one, was cleared of affray. | |
| An anonymous clubber called police to report Cody Fisher's stabbing | |
| An anonymous clubber called police to report Cody Fisher's stabbing | |
| Giving evidence, Gordon said he only found out about a stabbing when Carpenter confessed to him in the pizza shop. | |
| He said he did not know he had brought a knife into the Crane and had not encouraged others to assault Mr Fisher, nor had he seen a weapon inside the club. | |
| He admitted a confrontation occurred with Mr Fisher as he crossed the dance floor to leave, but said his messages about "shanking" him were "just a figure of speech" and had not intended him serious harm. | |
| Carpenter told jurors that Gordon had "manufactured" lies to disguise his own involvement in the stabbing. | |
| Tracey Fisher, Cody's mother, said her son's killers were "evil and inhumane" | |
| He said he had only changed his clothes because they were wet and smelled of alcohol and body odour, but agreed with the prosecution's suggestion that the knife used to kill Mr Fisher must have been taken past nightclub security checks. | |
| Det Insp Michelle Thurgood, West Midlands Police senior investigating officer with the homicide team, said although there were no clear images of who administered the fatal injury to Mr Fisher, the Crown's case was that Carpenter was the person responsible. | |
| Flight booked | |
| "But our case is very much that Remy Gordon is as equally culpable as Kami Carpenter when you look at joint enterprise, because if it hadn't been for the incident with him, if it hadn't been for him being adamant that he was going to identify Cody Fisher and seek some sort of retribution to Cody Fisher, then Cody Fisher would be alive today," she said. | |
| She said Carpenter was intending to leave the country and had booked a flight to Jamaica right after the stabbing but was arrested before he left. | |
| Anderson, who was in the Snapchat group and party to all the conversations, was seen "running towards" Mr Fisher as part of the attack at Crane and was "an aggressor" in the affray on Mr Vann she said. | |
| She added the killing was "an absolute tragedy" but was nothing to do with gangs or street crime. | |
| Det Insp Michelle Thurgood, a senior investigating officer with West Midlands Police, said Mr Fisher's death in the circumstances was "difficult to comprehend" | |
| "We've probably all been in that situation where we push someone or someone's pushed us, and you don't give it a second thought. You either apologise or you don't, and that's the end of it," she said. | |
| "The thought that somebody was so affronted by that, that a young man loses his life is difficult to comprehend." | |
| The nightclub had its licence revoked by the city council in the months after the killing after safety and drug fears were raised by the force. | |
| Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk | Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Birmingham | Birmingham |