Chilling CCTV footage has revealed the moment three men chased a dog walker through a street in broad daylight before fatally stabbing him. Kieran Shepherd, 30, was caught by his pursuers and stabbed twice in the back with a large knife during the attack in Great Baddow, near Chelmsford, Essex.
The incident occurred on October 15 last year at 12:24pm, with the victim discovered dead just six minutes later by a cleaner working in a nearby building. Three 20-year-old men - Joseph Dawe from Great Baddow, Zack O'Keeffe from Langdon Hills, and Harrison Carpenter from Chelmsford - are standing trial for murder at Chelmsford Crown Court, all pleading not guilty.
Fatal chase captured on camera
The newly released footage shows the trio, wearing dark jackets, sprinting towards Shepherd and his dog before disappearing from view. Prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC told the court that Shepherd was "clearly caught by the three men" and suffered wounds measuring between 13 to 15 centimetres from what she described as a "large" knife.
The prosecution argues all three defendants are "jointly responsible" for the killing. Ayling explained: "One person may have delivered the fatal blows but the prosecution case is the three are jointly liable as they were acting together in a joint attack."
Drug dealing background emerges
During cross-examination this week, O'Keeffe admitted to selling cocaine to Shepherd approximately one to two months before the fatal incident. He revealed that he and co-defendant Carpenter had met the victim in an alleyway for another drug transaction roughly two weeks later.
O'Keeffe claimed the second encounter turned threatening when Shepherd unexpectedly produced a knife instead of payment. "I've given him the two wraps of cocaine, and I thought he would pull out money, but instead he pulled out a knife," he told the court.
Self-defence claims disputed
The defendant insisted he and his co-accused were not intentionally seeking out Shepherd when they spotted him on October 15. O'Keeffe told the jury he "panicked" after the incident and "couldn't believe what I had just done."
He claimed self-defence, stating: "If I didn't defend myself, I felt like mine and my friends' lives could have been at risk. I had no idea it was going to be fatal." O'Keeffe admitted being too "scared" to contact police and said he "didn't think it was going to be this serious."
The trial continues.
Sources used: "Mirror", "Daily Mail", "Daily Star", "BBC" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
