Fred Shand murder trial: Jury hears from two witnesses that followed co-defendants home after fatal Kingsthorpe stabbing

The two eyewitnesses who followed the co-defendants back to the 17-year-old’s home address after the fatal stabbing of Fred Shand were called to give evidence before the court.

John Wood and Alan Shirley were driving from Northampton to Buckinghamshire when they witnessed the incident, the court heard.

The pair, when called to give evidence separately on Tuesday morning (July 18), confirmed the area was unknown to them and they were travelling home after visiting someone in the town.

Mr Wood, a retired police officer of 31 years, was called upon first – after he gave a video account of what happened on March 22 to the police, which was turned into a witness statement. The same was done with Mr Shirley.

Mr Wood was driving the vehicle he and Mr Shirley were travelling in, which he confirmed on stills from CCTV footage in court.

The court heard they were facing south in traffic on Harborough Road and the incident took place on the green to their left.

Mr Wood described four young males, of a similar teen age, he believed to have seen involved in the incident.

The witness' descriptions of the co-defendants – namely one in all black with a face covering and the other wearing an inverted white baseball cap, dark clothing and an “NHS type blue face mask” – matched what the court had both seen and heard up until this point.

Mr Wood described the victim as a young, black male with an afro haircut and he could not recall what he was wearing but knew it was dark coloured.

The court heard Mr Wood recall seeing the first two men he described on a scooter – who he and Mr Shirley believed to have previously seen a few minutes earlier, as they discussed the legality of two people on a moving scooter of this kind when they first saw it.

After Mr Wood explained where he saw the scooter travelled before coming back on itself on the green in Harborough Road, he described the way the co-defendants “just flew” at Fred and his teen friend – and agreed there was no pause or hesitation.

As the incident happened “so quickly”, Mr Wood said it was difficult to see what happened and what each individual did. He had earlier confirmed it was the one wearing all black that he had seen with the knife.

Mr Wood says the two who arrived on the scooter together were “definitely acting as one” and it was “more of an attack than a fight”.

The court heard that as the one described in all black turned around, which matches the 15-year-old defendant, Mr Wood could see he had a knife and it seemed to be at “waist level horizontal to the ground”.

Mr Wood proceeded to tell the jury about what he believes he saw after the incident and which direction the co-defendants headed, as well as the fact he saw Fred fall to the floor – half on and half off the road.

Mr Wood instructed Mr Shirley to dial 999 and they were on loud speaker as they kept driving and followed the co-defendants until they ended up at what the court knows to be the 17-year-old defendant’s home address.

As a retired police officer, Mr Wood was providing real-time commentary over the phone and instructed Mr Shirley to take photographs, which the jury have seen.

The court heard that after giving the house number and street name of the final destination, the witnesses remained there until the police arrived.

Mr Wood proceeded to be questioned by Paul Hynes KC, the defence barrister for the 15-year-old defendant.

When asked if he had seen the pair he described as the victim and his friend running towards the confrontation, Mr Wood did not agree that they were moving “at pace” – and said it was the two on the scooter who were.

Mr Wood was also questioned about Fred removing his belt, to which he did not remember seeing him removing or using it as a weapon. Nor did he recall the older defendant, who Mr Wood described as wearing the white baseball cap, fall to the floor.

Ben Aina KC, the defence barrister for the older defendant, also questioned Mr Wood about the removal of Fred’s belt, the older defendant falling to the ground and Fred being pushed up against a tree, but Mr Wood reiterated not seeing any of this.

Mr Shirley was then called to the witness box to provide his evidence, and his descriptions of the four males involved and the route of the scooter were similar to Mr Wood’s.

The court heard Mr Shirley also recall seeing the scooter earlier on, after it sparked the conversation between him and Mr Wood about them being dangerous on pavements.

While going over what Mr Shirley described as a “scuffle” with punching and bending over, the witness told the court he did not see a knife at this point and it was only afterwards that he saw it.

Mr Shirley confirmed he saw the victim, Fred, stumble backwards, fall to the ground and that a young male came to help.

When questioned by Mr Hynes KC, Mr Shirley says he never saw any belt swinging from the victim.

Mr Aina KC also asked if Mr Shirley saw the male he described wearing the white cap fall to the ground, which the court knows to be the 17-year-old defendant. He reiterated he never saw the belt.

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 male 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.

The trial continues.