Trio member accused of Rotherham car park murder was "peace maker" and not a participant, jury hears
A jury has heard a member of a trio accused of murdering an associate in a fatal car park stabbing acted as a “peace maker,” and not a participant, as prosecutors allege.
Lee Davies died from a single stab wound to the left, top side of his chest, which penetrated cartilage between his ribs and breast bone through to his heart’s right ventricle, in the early hours of Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
Martin Shaw, Jake Shaw and Simon Welsh are all accused of murdering Mr Davies, aged 38, in an incident in a car park off Drummond Street. The three defendants deny murdering Mr Davies, and have been on trial at Sheffield Crown Court for the last three weeks.
Lee Davies died from a single stab wound to the left, top side of his chest, which penetrated cartilage between his ribs and breast bone through to his heart’s right ventricle, in the early hours of Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
Opening the Crown’s case against the three defendants, prosecutor Craig Hassall KC has previously told the jury of six men and six women that at the time of the alleged murder the three defendants and Mr Davies were known to each other, and were all “drug users who would regularly spend time in Rotherham town centre.”
Mr Hassall told the jury an eye witness has suggested the fatal incident arose out of an argument over a £10 bag of crack cocaine, resulting in a “two-sided” fight, “with the three defendants on one side, and Mr Davies on the other.”
Mr Hassall alleges that one of the the three defendants, most likely Mr Welsh, produced a knife and stabbed Mr Davies, as one of the others shouted “stab him.”
Footage shows murder accused “trying to stop the fight,” jury told
Richard Thyne KC made submissions on behalf of Mr Martin Shaw, aged 46, of no fixed abode, in his closing speech this morning (Friday, April 11, 2025).
In it, he told the jury of six men and six women that Mr Martin Shaw had the role of “peace maker,” did not act together with the other defendants or intend to cause him really serious harm and was not aware that a knife had been brought to the scene.
“We suggest the evidence is pretty clear that he is not the person who stabbed Lee Davies. Even the prosecution don’t invite you to say that.
“They say it was Simon Welsh, therefore Martin Shaw is being prosecuted under the law of joint enterprise. We fundamentally disagree with the prosecution argument...that all three of them are as guilty as each other,” he said.
Mr Thyne suggested this argument was “too simplistic” and getting to the truth of what happened requires a “close and critical analysis” of the defendants’ roles in the fatal incident.
Taking the jury through the CCTV evidence, Mr Thyne suggested that as tensions began to simmer between Mr Davies and Mr Welsh in the minutes running up to the fatal incident - as they looked to be on the cusp of a physical altercation - Mr Martin Shaw could be seen “getting in between them.” The group were at a different location to the site of the fatal incident, a short distance away, at this point.
“He stands in the way of Lee Davies, holding him back, putting himself in the way of Simon Welsh and Lee Davies.”
“Does that make Martin Shaw a participant in joint aggression at that stage?
“Or is he, as we say, trying to keep the peace,” said Mr Thyne.
He continued: “We say when you watch that footage, nothing on it suggests Martin Shaw is involved in aggression, posturing or doing anything other than trying to stop the fight.”
Evidence from co-accused
During their evidence earlier in the trial, Mr Jake Shaw and Mr Simon Welsh have both claimed that they did not stab Mr Davies with a knife, and did not see a knife at any point during the night of the fatal incident.
Mr Jake Shaw, aged 27, of Canklow Road, Canklow, admitted to picking up a bottle of gin, which had been consumed by others earlier in the night.
The sound of the bottle, said Mr Jake Shaw, scared Mr Davies, and a bit broke off as he picked it up. He then handed the piece to Mr Welsh as he told him to “use it to scare him off, scare him off a bit.”
Summarising Mr Welsh’s evidence in his closing speech yesterday, Mark McKone KC said Mr Welsh “accepts throwing a bottle and throwing glass” and “accepts punching Lee Davies in the back of the head.”
He added, however, that Mr Welsh did not see, use, or stab, Mr Davies with a knife, and had “no intention to cause him really serious harm.”
Mr McKone suggested that had Mr Welsh indeed stabbed Mr Davies with a knife, as the prosecution allege, it would be a “bizarre thing for Simon Welsh to make up that he thought he had killed Lee Davies with glass - in a murder trial.”
Jury asked to consider if murder accused did go from “peace maker” to “participant” at what stage that happened
Mr Thyne told jurors they may find - after reviewing the CCTV evidence - that even as pieces of glass were flying over Mr Martin Shaw’s head, “too close for comfort,” he puts his arms out again in another “peace making” gesture, only to be “pushed or bundled to the side by Mr Davies.”
He conceded that there are two instances where the jury may find the footage appears to show Mr Martin Shaw “pushing back” at Mr Davies, in response to similar actions from him - both as the group were near St Ann’s roundabout moving towards the Drummond Street car park - and seconds before he sustained his fatal stab wound.
Referring to the latter “push,” Mr Thyne told them: “If Martin Shaw was pushing him [Lee Davies] away, is that anything worse than what he was doing at St Ann’s roundabout, trying to keep the peace.”
Mr Thyne continued: “If you accept our argument he was trying to keep the peace earlier, at what stage did he change his mind, and decide: ‘do you know what, I’m not going to bother being the peace maker, I’m not going to bother’.”
“‘Not only that, I’m going to stop trying to prevent this fight, and I want Lee to suffer really serious harm’.”
Mr Thyne told the jury that if Mr Martin Shaw did go from peace keeper to being a participant in the murder on a joint enterprise basis, they may want to pinpoint when in the CCTV footage does that happen, “when does that change?”
He asked them whether it would be “justice” for Mr Martin Shaw to be “penalised” for trying to act as peace maker instead of just watching, and allowing, the fight to happen.
Referring to claims from prosecutors suggesting the footage appears to show Mr Martin Shaw picking up the murder weapon, as he and his co-accused leave the scene, Mr Thyne suggested the defence say it is not possible to clearly determine what he picked up.
He also suggested that the “trouble” with the prosecution “planting the seed” the item Mr Martin Shaw is seen with was the murder weapon is that it is difficult to move away from that assertion, when reviewing the footage thereafter.
Mr Thyne accepted the jury may think less of Mr Martin Shaw over his decision to leave the scene after the fatal incident.
He added, however: “But actions after the event are not necessarily determinative of someone’s actions before the event. We say a person should not be found guilty of an offence, based on your understandable disapproval of his actions after the event.”
Additional charge faced by Simon Welsh
Mr Welsh, aged 38, of Doncaster Road, East Dene, Rotherham, also faces an additional charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, which he denies. The assault is alleged to have taken place in a covered section of the same Tesco car park, off Drummond Street, around seven months earlier on November 6, 2023.
He is accused of attacking a man by the name of Michael Williams, who has since died from cancer.
Mr Williams had a fractured skull, along with a fracture to his nasal bone and a periorbital haematoma, more commonly referred to as a black eye.
Defendants’ denials
Mr Welsh, Mr Jake Shaw and Mr Martin Shaw all deny murdering Mr Davies.
Mr Welsh also denies a further charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
The jury are now expected to be sent out on Monday (April 14, 2025).
The trial continues.
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