Published
Mon, Mar 25, 2024, 18:05
- The 23-year-old was fatally stabbed at the venue in December 2022.
Two men have been found guilty of murdering 23-year-old footballer Cody Fisher at Birmingham nightclub Crane, the BBC reports.
Earlier today, March 25th, Remy Gordon, 23, and Kami Carpenter, 21, were convicted at Birmingham Crown Court, 14 months after being charged with Fisher's murder. They later received respective sentences of 26 and 25 years. Fisher, a school sports coach who formerly played for Birmingham City FC, was fatally stabbed at a party headlined by Marco Carola on Boxing Day 2022.
The court heard that Fisher was attacked two days after brushing past Gordon on Christmas Eve at Solihull bar Popworld. Less than an hour after the encounter, Gordon wrote a message to friends in a Snapchat group, appealing for help to identify Fisher so he could "shank him up." Messages in the group revealed discussions about wearing masks and taking weapons into Crane.
Shortly after 11.30 PM on the 26th, while standing with his girlfriend, Jess Chatwin, and best friend, Dan Vann, Fisher was approached by around ten men. Vann, who was also stabbed during the incident, said Fisher was head-butted and punched before collapsing to the floor after being stabbed in the leg and chest. A third defendant, Reagan Anderson, who was also in the Snapchat group, was found not guilty of murder but convicted of affray in relation to the attack on Vann.
Gordon was later caught on CCTV at a pizzeria boasting about the stabbing, while Carpenter left the venue in an Audi with a friend. A number of eyewitness accounts highlighted the lax security at Crane on the night. Speaking to Sky News, one attendee said it was a "disaster waiting to happen."
Launched in 2017, Crane immediately had its license suspended after the murder before being completely revoked in January 2023. We'll report more on this story as it develops.
Update, April 8th: This story was updated to include the sentences handed to Gordon and Carpenter.