Harrowing CCTV played to jury shows man collapse after fatal stabbing

HARROWING CCTV played to a murder trial jury showed a man stagger and then collapse after being fatally stabbed in the street.

People in the public gallery left the court when they viewed the shocking footage showing the final moments of Ricky Lee Collins.

Minutes before he had been stabbed once to the torso and again to the arm by a 24-year-old man the prosecution say meant to kill him.

That person, Bradley Ward, is on trial at Derby Crown Court for the murder of 31-year-old Mr Collins. He denies the charge.

Mary Loram QC, opening the prosecution’s case, said: “On the evening of March 29 of this year a young man, Ricky Lee Collins, was stabbed to death. That killing took place just before 10pm at night.

“He received two injuries – one stab wound to the torso and another to his right arm. It was the second injury to his arm which was to lead to his death because an artery was cut leading to fatal blood loss.

“There is no dispute about that and there is also no dispute that it was Bradley Ward who stabbed Ricky Lee Collins. What you will hear once you hear all the evidence is why he did that.

“The defence will say Bradley Ward was acting in self defence.

“The prosecution, however, say this: We say that once you have heard all of the evidence that you will be able to be sure not only did Bradley Ward cause the death but when he did so this was no act of self defence.

“It was an act of anger, we say Bradley Ward armed himself with a knife before the encounter with Rickey Lee Collins and that cannot be self defence.”

Miss Loram said on the evening of the stabbing, Mr Collins’ partner, Mia Turner, was with her friend JamieLeigh Jessop, the partner of the defendant, at Miss Turner’s address in Westthorpe Road, Killamarsh. Miss Loram said shortly before 10pm Mr Collins drove to the address in his white van. She said: “I will make it clear to you now Ricky Lee Collins did not behave in a way that will impress you. But that does not mean that anyone is justified in using any violence, let alone violence that kills.

“He (Mr Collins) did not like Miss Jessop, he believed she had been saying bad things about him behind his back. At the address he assaulted Jamie-Leigh Jessop, grabbed her by the hair, accusing her of bad mouthing him.”

Miss Loram said Mr Collins then left and immediately afterwards Miss Jessop called Ward and told him what had happened. She played a CCTV clip of the two vehicles, one containing Ward and the other driven by Mr Collins, meet close to the nearby Nags Head pub.

Miss Loram said a neighbour saw “a sort of coming together” before the car driver got back in and drove away. “Ricky Collins then wanders away from his van, by this time badly injured.”

Miss Loram said Mr Collins then walked away, telling a passer-by in the street he had been stabbed.

CCTV played to the jury then showed him collapse more than once and end up laying on his back on the ground She said members of the public called 999 and he was treated at the scene but pronounced dead at hospital around two hours later.

The trial of Ward, of Fairfax Drive, Woodhouse, Sheffield, continues.