Drug dealer lured to Sheffield park and stabbed 16 times — three jailed for life
Two teenagers and a sex worker have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Sacad Ali, 24, stabbed 16 times in Sheffield's Ponderosa Park.
Three jailed for life over Sheffield park murder of drug dealer Sacad Ali
Two teenagers and a sex worker have been handed life sentences for the murder of Sacad Ali, 24, who was lured to a Sheffield park and stabbed 16 times, bbc.co.uk reports.
Barney Griffin, 18, of Dixon Drive, Sheffield, and Jack Douglas, 17, of Brightholmlee Lane, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to murder and possession of a bladed article. Rebecca Moore, 25, of Springvale Walk, Sheffield, was convicted of murder following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
Griffin was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years' detention, Douglas to at least 15 years, and Moore to a minimum of 15 years.
The attack
Ali was killed in the early hours of 9 March at Ponderosa Park in Sheffield. The court heard that Griffin and Douglas had been running a drugs line in the city and targeted Ali for dealing "on their turf".
Moore, described by prosecutor Simon Kealey KC as the "bait" in the plot, arranged to meet Ali at the park under the pretence of buying crack cocaine from him and offering "sexual favours". Once he arrived, Griffin and Douglas ambushed him, stabbing him 16 times and leaving him to "bleed to death". Moore left the scene shortly after the two teenagers fled.
Griffin and Douglas handed themselves in to police on 12 March. Moore was arrested later the same day. All three were charged the following day.
Sentencing
The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, addressed the trio directly when passing sentence on Thursday. "You were all in this together. All three of you committed murder," he said.
He drew a distinction between the roles played: "The actual act of killing was perpetrated by you, Griffin and Douglas, [but] the murder was set up by all three of you. It was your task, Moore, to lure the deceased to the location and to his death."
Richardson said he did not believe Griffin and Douglas had established the drugs line themselves, but that once "recruited or corrupted to enter the fetid swamp of drug dealing" they had "wallowed in that swamp".
The judge added: "If ever there was a case that demonstrates the twin evils of drug peddling and carrying knives, particularly young people carrying knives, this is it. This case demonstrates what can happen when young people get embroiled in drug peddling and a drug-related turf war erupts."
Moore's conduct during trial
Moore maintained her innocence throughout proceedings, despite evidence presented to the jury suggesting she had "boasted" and "laughed" about setting up the attack on Ali.
Victim's family statement
In a statement read out in court, Ali's mother said her family would never recover from his death. "I lost a part of myself when my son was taken away from me in such a violent and brutal manner," she said. "None of Sacad's family will be able to hug him, hear him talk, or hear his joyous laugh. Our lives have become empty and desolate — every day we are reminded of our loss."
Police response
Detective Chief Inspector Ben Wood, speaking outside the court, said Griffin and Douglas had murdered Ali "in a barbaric way", while Moore had also played a central role by "duping him into meeting and luring him to the spot where he would be brutally attacked". Wood criticised Moore for forcing the family to endure a full trial. "Rather than admit her guilt, Moore then made Sacad's loved ones relive the events of the day he died," he said, noting she was subsequently found guilty.
Source: The Sun