Men guilty of 'Good Samaritan' killing after retrial

Two men have been found guilty of killing a "Good Samaritan" when he stepped in to help a 17-year-old girl after she had been assaulted.

Reece Radford, 26, was fatally stabbed when he intervened in the altercation in Arundel Gate, Sheffield, in September 2022.

Dereck Owusu and Louis James were originally jailed for life in 2023 after being convicted of Radford's murder, but after appealing against their convictions a retrial was held at Leeds Crown Court.

On Thursday, James, 50, previously of Manor Lane, Sheffield, was found guilty of murder, while Owusu, 43, previously of Strathmore Grove, Rotherham, was convicted of manslaughter. Both men are due to be re-sentenced on 30 October.

South Yorkshire Police described Radford as a "Good Samaritan" and offered their condolences to his family and friends after they were forced to sit through a second trial.

During the original trial, the court heard Radford had confronted the pair after he witnessed Owusu punching the girl in the face in Arundel Gate in the early hours of 29 September 2022.

The jury was told that Radford, who had met the girl briefly earlier that night, saw Owusu striking the teenager "with such force that she fell to the ground", and he intervened by punching Owusu in the face.

"He did so in order to protect a young female who he had just seen being punched," prosecutor David Temkin KC said at the time.

Owusu and James then attacked Radford, with James stabbing him. Radford died in hospital six days later as a result of a stab wound.

Following the retrial verdicts, Det Insp Adam Watkinson said: "My thoughts remain with Reece's friends and family.

"I cannot imagine what they have been through, having to endure a second murder trial after they thought justice had been served."

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