Fred Shand murder trial: Friend had nine second phone call with 15-year-old defendant ahead of incident

Following on from the final live witness giving his evidence in court, the first written statement of evidence read aloud was from a friend of the 15-year-old defendant.

The court heard that the witness went to the house of one of his other friends at around 3.20pm on the day of the fatal stabbing (March 22).

He decided to give the 15-year-old defendant a call at 3.33pm and the court heard the call lasted nine seconds.

Having asked the defendant where he was, the court heard the 15-year-old defendant replied “going to Kingsthorpe College after Fred” before hanging up.

Though the jury heard this witness thought the defendant might do something, his statement read that he did not know he would kill Fred.

The witness and the friend whose house he was at put their jackets on, left the house and found a nearby e-scooter. The witness was driving and the friend was on the back as they went to look for the 15-year-old defendant.

As the pair followed Google Maps on their route to Kingsthorpe College, the witness and his friend were repeatedly calling the 15-year-old defendant before they arrived at the school around 15 minutes later.

The friend on the back of the scooter was the one phoning the 15-year-old defendant and the witness was listening through his earphones, the statement read.

They attempted to call the defendant 19 times but he never answered, and the final call was made at 4.06pm on March 22.

The same witness referred to the McDonalds incident the day before the fatal stabbing (Tuesday, March 21).

The witness referred to being in the company of a different friend and their plan to go to the bus station in Northampton town centre after school.

The court heard the pair saw a fight in front of McDonalds in the Drapery and recalled an English black person wearing a hoodie, estimated to be aged 15 or 16, asking if he knew where the 15-year-old defendant was. The witness replied to say he did not know.

The witness claims to have seen a fight of a group between 15 and 20 people against two people, and saw a tall male get hit with a belt. The witness did not state who it was that hit him with the belt.

The court heard the witness was 10 metres away from the male that got hit and as where he was standing was slightly raised, he could see over the top of people – and also recognised another friend of his.

The witness described the group of 15 to 20 as mostly black individuals and “all wearing masks”. The witness did not know any of them and alleged that the group had also chased another individual.

Another four written statements were read in court on Tuesday afternoon (July 18), all of whom witnessed the incident from their vehicles.

The second was Tracey Gilkes, who helped Fred’s friend at the scene after he had phoned 999 for help. She was travelling in a car from Kingsthorpe Grove to Harborough Road at the time.

The next was Emma Mcguire, travelling in a van with the grass area of Harborough Road to her left. As part of her statement, the jury heard she saw Fred take his belt off but says she did not see it make contact with anyone else. The removal and use of the belt has been brought up by defence barristers on a number of occasions, as a number of other witnesses had not seen the belt.

The fourth statement was from Bonnie Mundy, travelling south in her vehicle along Harborough Road. The court heard that as she proceeded to drive on from what she described as “a real fight”, she circled back on herself to go back to the scene. As she did, she saw two males she had previously seen at the incident leaving – and they ran out in front of her car on foot.

The final statement was from Wayne Russell, who the court heard “100 percent” could see a blade was involved in the incident and recalled the thrusting movements he saw. Mr Russell also began to follow the co-defendants – after pulling over to phone 999 – until he lost sight of them.

What else has happened in the trial so far?

The two teenage boys from Northampton, who were aged 14 and 16 at the time but are now 15 and 17, pleaded not guilty to their murder charge before Northampton Crown Court on April 24. They cannot be named for legal reasons.

Miss Jane Bickerstaff KC, the prosecuting barrister, kickstarted the trial on Wednesday (July 12) with the prosecution opening after the jury was sworn in on Monday (July 10).

The court heard the younger defendant, aged 15, faces an additional charge of carrying an article with a blade or a sharp point in a public place – which he has already pleaded guilty to.

The court heard 16-year-old Rohan Shand, known as Fred, died after being stabbed near the Cock Hotel in Harborough Road at about 3.35pm on March 22 while on his way home from Kingsthorpe College.

Miss Bickerstaff KC, of the prosecution, told the court it was the 15-year-old male defendant that carried out the stabbing and he was accompanied by the 17-year-old in the planned “joint enterprise attack” – shown by CCTV footage in court.

The stabbing followed an altercation outside McDonalds in the Drapery, which the court heard took place the day before (March 21).

A male had his “face sliced with a belt buckle” during that “dispute” and the two defendants were a friend of his. The co-defendants believed Fred Shand was at the forefront of the group responsible.

The court heard that after the co-defendants arrived at Kingsthorpe College later than planned on March 22, they rode on scooter towards the town centre via Harborough Road.

The entire incident was over in seven seconds after Fred, his teen friend and the two co-defendants came together for the first time at 3.34pm on March 22 on the green in Harborough Road, the court heard.

The co-defendants fled the scene on foot to the home of the 17-year-old, where they were detained by police shortly after – along with what is believed to be the murder weapon, a second knife and clothing worn during the incident.

During the second day of the trial (Thursday, July 13) – the first in which witnesses were called on to give evidence by the prosecution – the court saw 360 degree imagery to give them an understanding of the area, as well as video footage that has been recovered from March 22.

On the morning of the third day of the trial (Friday, July 14), the pathologist that conducted Fred’s post-mortem examination gave her expert evidence on the cause of death.

This was followed by evidence given by the teen friend who was with Fred on the day of the fatal stabbing.

Kickstarting the second week (Tuesday, July 18), the two eyewitnesses who followed the co-defendants home after the incident were called to give evidence.

The final live witness took to the stand to conclude the morning sitting, when the court heard he saw the blade pulled from the younger defendant’s trousers.

The trial continues.