By Tony O’Reilly-
The jury in the murder trial of 22-year-old Davices Anderson(pictured) who was stabbed was shown footage of the young man crying for help.
Mr Anderson was stabbed near the bustling junction of Huntingdon Street and Woodborough Road, in a tragic incidence that highlights the ongoing dangers of knife crime.
The jury heard that Mr Anderson, also known as Ricardo had become who had become involved in criminality”, “targeting and robbing people of drugs, including local drug dealers and he had also sold fake drugs to people” and that “this behaviour had upset a lot of people”.
A passer-by, at the junction of Huntingdon Street and Woodborough Road in the city centre can be seen trying to help the victim while staff at the communal block call the emergency services. Tragically, Mr Anderson was declared dead around 90 minutes later having suffered “at least three” wounds to his body.
McLeary, 54, and a second man called David Francis, 61, are on trial at Nottingham Crown Court for the murder of Mr Anderson. They deny the charge.
Two more men, Gregory Bailey(50) and Danny O’Keefe, (50)are also on trial having been charged with assisting an offender in relation to the same incident. They too deny their involvement.
Prosecutor Andrew Vout KC, opening the trial to the jury, said: “At about a quarter to eight on the morning of April 28, 2023, Davices Anderson was stabbed at least three times.
One stab wound was to the left side of his forehead, one stab wound was to his left thigh and one stab wound was to his chest. The weapon used to inflict this wound penetrated the chest wall and then entered his heart.
“Courtney McLeary and his friend, David Francis, were parties to the attack in which those injuries to Davices Anderson were caused. Davices staggered out of the flat where this had happened, down some stairs, and into the communal area of the block.
People remained in the flat, where the stabbing had occurred, for several minutes after the injured Davices had left, they [being] Courtney McLeary and his friend David Francis.
”As Davices was in the downstairs hallway, dying, they set about concealing evidence of what had happened. That took about five minutes.
“Then Courtney McLeary and David Francis left the flat and made their way to the ground floor. They found Davices on the hallway floor, obviously in great distress. Courtney McLeary simply stepped over Davices and left, in order to hide himself and hide evidence of what happened.
He would be assisted in this business over the following hours and days by Gregory Bailey and Danny O’Keefe.
“David Francis stayed with the dying Davices Anderson, posing as someone who had simply, by chance, come across an injured man in distress. David Francis gave the impression of being a ‘Good Samaritan’. That was not true. In fact, David Francis was also hiding evidence of what happened.
“He was making sure that no one heard Davices speak about what had been done to him and he was concealing an item that could have been used to inflict some of Davices’ injuries. Courtney McLeary would later tell the police that Davices Anderson had been stabbed during a struggle when David Francis jumped on them both.
David Francis said that Courtney McLeary was being aggressive to Davices Anderson and that he, David Francis, had had to pull Courtney McLeary away from Davices Anderson.
“We say that you can be sure that Courtney McLeary, and David Francis, were parties to the attack in which those injuries to Davices Anderson were deliberately caused. Both of them intended to cause Davices Anderson really serious harm.”
“We say that Courtney McLeary and David Francis were in it together. Mr Anderson sustained a number of stabs and incised wounds. One wound was to the chest, which penetrated his heart.
Mr Anderson left the flat and staggered down the stairwell. He was shouting ‘help me, help me’. Mr Anderson stumbled and fell to his left onto the floor and landed on his back. He kept on saying ‘help me, help me’.
“Mr Anderson remained on the ground floor, near to the door into the street, in some distress. A passerby saw Mr Anderson and immediately appreciated that he was seriously injured and called the police. Courtney McLeary and David Francis came down to the ground floor together in the lift and Mr Francis was carrying a bottle of vodka in each hand.
to the ground floor together in the lift and Mr Francis was carrying a bottle of vodka in each hand.”
The incident has left the community reeling, unraveling a tale of crime, deceit, and profound tragedy.
On the fateful morning of April 28, 2023, Davices Anderson became entangled in a violent altercation that would abruptly end his young life. Suffering from multiple stab wounds, including a fatal blow piercing his heart, Anderson staggered to a nearby block of flats in a desperate bid for help.
However, his valiant efforts were in vain as he collapsed at the entrance, succumbing to his injuries. Subsequent arrests swiftly followed, with Courtney McLeary, 54, and David Francis, 61, facing charges of murder, vehemently denying any involvement.
Further complicating the case, Gregory Bailey and Danny O’Keefe, both aged 50, stand accused of aiding an offender, allegedly complicit in concealing crucial evidence linked to the heinous crime.
The trial revealed a web of intricate interactions and clandestine activities leading up to that fateful night.
The prosecution’s narrative paints a grim picture of premeditated violence, spotlighting McLeary and Francis’s alleged efforts to obfuscate their culpability.
Disturbing accounts of McLeary purportedly stepping over Anderson’s wounded body in a bid to flee and Francis’s alleged attempt to feign altruism to cover his tracks cast a chilling shadow over the aftermath.
Additionally, the trial delves into Anderson’s background, exposing his involvement in criminal activities, particularly targeting drug dealers, which may have laid the groundwork for the tragic events that unfolded.
A Community in Grief
The effects of this tragic incident echo throughout the Nottingham community, prompting soul-searching conversations about safety, justice, and the underlying societal issues fueling such acts of violence.
Knife crime in Britain has long been an epidemic in need of desperate solutions to save the needless loss of life of young people.