Three teenagers have been found guilty of the murder of a 20-year-old man who was goaded into a confrontation and stabbed to death in Hyson Green.
Esrom Ghide was attacked by a group of young people in Hawksley Road at around 5.40pm on Wednesday, September 5 2018.
Nottingham Crown Court was told he had been persistently goaded into a fight, despite his reluctance, after one of them tried to snatch a cigarette from him.
The teenagers, a 17-year-old and two 15-year-olds, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were convicted today (June 24) following a six-week trial. Two other boys, aged 17 and 15, were acquitted.
After an initial scuffle with one of the teenagers – the 17-year-old who has now been convicted of his murder – others joined in and Mr Ghide was punched, kicked and stabbed.
He suffered more than a dozen stab wounds in what the pathologist concluded was “a sustained attack possibly by a number of individuals armed with knives”.
Mr Ghide was left fatally injured on the pavement and the five defendants were seen on CCTV running away on to Gregory Boulevard. After hearing the evidence, the jury concluded that one of the 17-year-olds, then 16, and two of the 15-year-olds, then 14, had murdered Mr Ghide.
Mr Ghide, from nearby Radford, died shortly after he was taken to hospital.
A forensic post-mortem examination identified the cause of death as a stab wound to the heart. He had received 17 knife wounds, 12 of those being stab wounds to his body and other knife injuries from the tip of a knife. There were no defence injuries.
The court heard from witnesses who stated that about two weeks before the attack there had been an argument between two of the defendants and the victim. This was again about a cigarette and one of the defendants was told to have said “You need to sort out your boy, man’s gonna get stabbed up.”
It is believed that this was the cause of the follow-on attack of the victim.
Following the guilty verdicts, the defendants were today remanded in custody to return to Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on Monday, July 29.
Detective Inspector Justine Wilson, senior investigating officer, said: “This was a vicious and tragic attack on a young man by a group of people younger than him but due to their numbers they were able to overpower him.
“Esrom made it clear he did not want a fight but they were relentless in taunting him and forced him into a confrontation, which due to them carrying knives ultimately turned out to be fatal. This may seem to be a confrontation over a cigarette but it really involves a dispute between the group of young males who thought that they were ‘bigger’ men, who could be disrespectful and do as they wished. Esrom Ghide stood up to this and it cost him his life.
“Esrom’s death has been devastating for his family and the senseless nature of it has been incredibly hard for them to take.”
DI Wilson added that Nottinghamshire Police is committed to reducing knife crime.
“People are probably well aware by now that we have a Knife Crime Team who are dedicated to tackling offenders, and Schools and Early Intervention Officers who work with young people in schools to help them make positive life choices,” she said.
“However, there is a lot more work going on in the background – involving police and partner agencies – to prevent young people becoming involved in knife crime. For example, any young people involved in knife crime, whether as a victim or perpetrator, are referred by the police to local authority children’s services teams to ensure an appropriate package of safeguarding and support is put in place to prevent repeat incidents.
“Sadly Esrom’s death highlights the importance of the societal need to ensure that carrying knives never becomes acceptable.
“Anyone who knows of someone who carries a knife has a chance to prevent tragedies like this by reporting their concerns. Intelligence is a key factor in preventing knife crime from happening and the more information we have the better equipped we are to take action.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Esrom. I would like to thank them for their utmost dignity held throughout this trial. I would also like to thank the witnesses who came forward to give evidence, without them we would not have reached this rightful conclusion.”
