A young man was murdered when he tried to protect his friend who was being attacked by knifemen, a jury has been told. Salah Adam, 21, died after being stabbed to the neck in Old Trafford in May last year.
Two other young men, Demari Rose, 20, and Xavaiour Wynter, 21, are both on trial accused of his murder. They deny the charge.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Adam was knifed following a 'heated' dispute about an incident the night before. He was killed after going to help a friend who was allegedly being attacked by the defendants, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Prosecutors allege that both defendants were armed with knives. Jurors have heard that Rose has admitted being in possession of a blade, but Wynter denies that he was armed.
Mr Adam was fatally injured in the back garden of a house next door to his family home, just before 8pm on May 31 last year. His body was identified by his mother.
The prosecution claimed that after leaving the scene, Wynter returned and ‘calmly and callously’ walked into the garden where Mr Adam lay dying to retrieve his mobile phone, while Mr Adam’s mother was outside the family home ‘wailing with grief’.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Guy Gozem KC claimed there had been a ‘precursor event’ the day before. He said that about 15 young men, including Mr Adam’s younger brother, Mohammad Adam, had been arrested on suspicion of affray after police received ‘numerous’ reports of men being seen wearing balaclavas and in possession of weapons on a street in Hulme.
Prosecutors claim that Wynter was present that day, and allege that he deliberately gave a false name to an officer who had stopped and searched him. When he was later arrested on suspicion of murder, 'by sheer coincidence' the same officer was also at Swinton police station and recognised him, jurors heard.
Wynter was also said to have shouted to the officer, saying: “Do you remember me? You stopped searched me that day when you had all the lads lined up.” Jurors were told that Rose and Wynter both met up on the afternoon of May 31. Later that day, they also met with Mr Adam and his friends Modasser Homayoon and Shoaib Shah.
Mr Gozem said the ‘topic of conversation’ was the arrest of Mr Adam’s brother. “That conversation became heated,” the prosecutor said.
Prosecutors claimed that at one point, Wynter lunged towards Mr Adam and his friends while allegedly holding a knife. The trio ran off, briefly returning and talking before leaving again.
Mr Gozem said: “That could have been the end of the matter, a frank exchange of views, a few angry words, even the production of a knife. But the prosecution say that was not where Rose and Wynter wanted to leave things. They wanted to take it further.”
Mr Gozem said that Mr Adam and his two friends were planning to eat together at his home that evening. Mr Homayoon had briefly left the house when he was approached by Rose and Wynter who were both on bikes, jurors heard.
They followed and ‘harried’ him, while Wynter could allegedly be seen holding his phone and apparently ‘ridiculing’ him, laughing and filming him. “Modasser Homayoon was so frightened that he tried to flag down cars that were passing on Kings Road, unsuccessfully,” Mr Gozem said.
He then began to run to try and reach Mr Adam’s home to reach ‘sanctuary’. They allegedly attacked him with their fists before he was chased up a driveway.
“Once out of the view of that alleyway, they drew their weapons,” Mr Gozem said. The prosecutor claimed that the defendants were intent on causing ‘at the very least, really serious bodily harm’.
Mr Gozem continued: “Purely, it seems, because he’d [Mr Homayoon] been amongst the group of three who’d been involved with the two defendants over the row about Mohammad Adam, Salah’s brother. That was enough for them to launch their attack.”
Mr Adam heard the commotion from inside his home, and saw that his friend had been ‘cornered’ Mr Homayoon ‘with knives drawn’. He and Mr Shah left the house. Mr Gozem said: “They went out in that garden to defend him, and as it turned out, to try and defend themselves. It appears to be the case that they took with them knives from the house, or at least one.”
Jurors were told that the defendants ‘turned their attention’ onto Mr Adam and both allegedly began ‘swinging their knives at him’. Mr Homayoon ‘grabbed’ one of them causing him to drop the knife, the court heard.
Prosecutors claim that Rose ‘continued’ and stabbed Mr Adam to the neck. The pair both left the area, and Rose allegedly discarded items including a knife which was later recovered in a bin.
Wynter returned to the scene shortly after and ‘calmly and callously’ retrieved his mobile phone from the garden where Mr Adam lay dying, prosecutors alleged. Rose went to hospital after being ‘quite badly’ injured and ‘made out that he had been the victim of an attack rather than one of the attackers’, the court heard.
Rose was questioned by police, with prosecutors claiming he ‘told lies as and when it suited him’ during his interviews. Wynter made no comment during interviews following his arrest.
Rose, of no fixed address, and Wynter, of no fixed address, both deny murder. Wynter also denies having an article with a blade or point.
Proceeding.
