Rotherham man guilty of good Samaritan’s murder jailed for 15 years

Dereck Owusu (40, pictured) of Strathmore Grove, Rotherham and Louis James (46, below) of Manor Lane, Sheffield went on trial over the death of Reece Radford who was stabbed when he intervened after seeing a 17-year-old girl being assaulted on September 29 last year. 

The 26-year-old died six days after the confrontation, with a post-mortem concluding his death was a result of a single stab wound to the chest.

Owusu (above) and James were found guilty of murder on April 5, following a three-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court. 

Today Owusu was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison and James to a minimum of 25 years.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Radford’s mum Laura Radford said her family had been “shattered” by his death.

She said: “It was not just my son who was killed that night, my family was killed, my heart is broken. 

“Reece was the life and soul of this family — he would light a room up as soon as he came in. 

“He wasn’t just my son he was my best friend, my soulmate, my everything.

“It is killing me knowing I am never going to see his big brown eyes, never going to hear his laugh or see him grow into the best daddy ever. That has been taken away from us.

“Our hearts will never heal from the loss of Reece — he was special and loved beyond life. 

“We will all miss him forever.”

During the trial, the court heard Owusu and James were on Arundel Gate in Sheffield city centre just before 1am, when they bumped into a teenage girl they knew. 

They shared some alcohol and there was a violent altercation shortly after 2.20am when Owusu punched the 17-year-old girl in the face.

Mr Radford, who witnessed the assault, stepped in to help the teenager, punching Owusu in the face and a fight broke out between him and the defendants.

Det Chief Insp Hodgman, senior investigating officer in the case, said: “The three ended up in the road, and Reece fell to the floor where he was subjected to a barrage of kicks from both men. Then the assault abruptly ended. 

“Reece crossed the road and collapsed on the other side. He had been stabbed in the chest.

“While Reece was lying critically injured on the floor, Owusu approached again swirling his belt in the air, before striking it at a friend of Reece, who was on the phone to the ambulance. The men then fled the scene a second time.”

Reece’s friends and the teenage girl attempted to stem the bleeding from his stab wound. 

Police and paramedics were soon on the scene and Reece was taken to hospital. He died on October 4, 2022.

DCI Hodgman added: “Reece’s family have been left devastated by his death, and I want to once again offer my sincere condolences to them. 

“I hope the sentences handed to Owusu and James today will go some way to helping them start to rebuild their lives.

“I would like to thank the team of officers, who have worked tirelessly on this case for the last seven months. Their hard work and dedication have helped to secure justice for Reece and his family.”