Footballer murdered in club as ‘awful revenge’ for minor incident, jury told

Footballer Cody Fisher was stabbed to death inside a nightclub on Boxing Day as a “planned act of retribution” after a minor incident on Christmas Eve involving one of his three killers, a court has heard.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court were told Remy Gordon carried out “awful revenge” on December 26 2022, after Mr Fisher made brief “unavoidable” contact with his back while leaving a crowded bar with a friend two days earlier.

Gordon, 23, is standing trial alongside Kami Carpenter, 22, and 19-year-old Reegan Anderson, who all deny murdering Mr Fisher at the Crane nightclub in Digbeth shortly before midnight on Boxing Day.

Opening the case against the trio on Tuesday, prosecutor Michael Duck KC told jurors: “The prosecution say that these three were part of a joint attack in which each either had or knew of the existence of knives.”

Mr Fisher, 23, was stabbed in the chest, penetrating a valve in his heart, and was pronounced dead at the scene, the court heard, while a close friend of the victim was chased and kicked but managed to get to his feet and escape.

Explaining the alleged motivation for the killing, Mr Duck said: “The prosecution say this was a joint and planned attack involving extreme violence.

“It was not a matter of chance that Cody Fisher was attacked. It was not a flash of temper – it was a planned act of retribution.”

Saying the jury may find it difficult to comprehend the potential reason behind the attack, Mr Duck added: “The loss of Cody Fisher’s life appears to relate to a minor falling out he had with Remy Gordon approximately 48 hours before his death.”

The earlier incident took place at the Popworld club in Solihull, Mr Duck said.

“It was packed,” Mr Duck said of the venue. “The inevitable consequence is that in that sort of environment people are going to come into contact with each other.

“It’s simply unavoidable.

“There was a brief coming together of Cody Fisher and Remy Gordon that night.

“Cody Fisher (and the close friend who was later chased at the Crane nightclub) were making their way towards the exit.

“Necessarily they had to move through a crowd of people. Tragically, amongst that crowd was Remy Gordon.

“There was a brief contact between Cody Fisher and Remy Gordon’s back it seems.

“Cody Fisher it seems did little more than touch Remy Gordon’s back. Remy Gordon was looking for an argument with somebody.”

Referring to social media messages subsequently sent by Gordon, Mr Duck told the jury: “It’s plain from evidence which has been obtained that rather than Mr Gordon simply acknowledging there had been no malice… he decided to challenge Cody Fisher.”

Mr Fisher was not prepared to apologise, having done nothing wrong and been threatened with violence, the court heard, and left the club with his friend.

Mr Duck said of Gordon: “He was set on retribution that ultimately was to lead to the loss of Cody Fisher’s young life in the Crane nightclub.

“The strength of his resentment can be gleaned from messages sent within about 50 minutes of the encounter in Popworld.

“He felt rather embarrassed and frustrated that he had been unable to intimidate a member of the public.”

It is alleged Gordon sent messages on Snapchat to friends around 45 minutes after the initial incident, appealing for help to identify a photograph showing Mr Fisher and threatening to “shank him up”.

“The prosecution say within three-quarters of an hour of that minor incident taking place in Popworld you see the way Remy Gordon felt about it and what he intended to do about it,” Mr Duck said.

Gordon, of Cofton Park Drive, Birmingham, and Carpenter and Anderson, both of no fixed address, also deny a charge of affray.

Mr Fisher, a former Birmingham City academy member who also played for Stratford Town and Bromsgrove Sporting, died at the scene.

Mobile phone footage of Mr Fisher lying on the floor after he was stabbed in the chest and leg was shown to the court, as well as further film which captured part of the attack on his friend.

After the footage was shown to the jury, Mr Duck held up the “ferocious” knife, used to kill Mr Fisher – contained in a see-through plastic box – so the jury could see its size.

Disclosing what he described as “one of the appalling details of the case”, Mr Duck told the jury: “That weapon was recovered – it was recovered by medical staff when they came to treat him and it was still embedded in his chest as he lay on the ground.”

Jurors were shown CCTV images of the three defendants arriving at the Crane club and copies of Snapchat messages sent between Gordon and Carpenter in the hours before they arrived at the there.

One message referred to a “bally” and another asked “can I get a shank in there”.

A third electronic conversation – alleged to show a “sinister intention” on the part of Gordon – said he was “looking to snuff someone”.

Mr Duck said: “Mr Gordon was intending to wear a disguise. He was debating which weapons to take into the premises. And he was intending to revisit the events of Christmas Eve with Mr Fisher.

“Terrifying as that summary of the scenario might be members of the jury, the prosecution say it’s the only sensible analysis of what happened.”

The court was also told a mutual friend of one of the defendants and Mr Fisher had suggested that he and the semi-professional footballer leave the Crane nightclub due to Gordon’s presence at the venue.

“Cody Fisher indicated that he was not prepared to leave the premises and be intimidated in that way,” Mr Duck said.

The trial continues.