Jury sent out in trial of woman accused of murdering 24-year-old at Sheffield park

24-year-old Sacad Ali lost his life in a fatal knife attack carried out at Ponderosa Park in the Netherthorpe area of Sheffield in the early hours of March 9, 2024, despite the best efforts of medics, police and residents who attempted to come to his aid.

Two teenage boys, Male A and Male B - neither of whom can be identified due to their age - have pleaded guilty to Mr Ali’s murder. They are due to be sentenced at a later date.

A third defendant, Rebecca Moore, aged 25, denies murdering Mr Ali and has been on trial at Sheffield Crown Court since Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

The jury of seven women and five men have today (Monday, November 11, 2024) retired to consider their verdict, following closing speeches from prosecution and defence counsel and a summation of the evidence heard during the course of the trial from The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC.

“It was Rebecca Moore that lured Mr Ali out of a flat under the promise of sexual favours, he was then attacked and stabbed,” said Simon Kealey KC, as he outlined the prosecution’s case against Ms Moore, formerly of Springvale Walk, Netherthorpe, Sheffield, to the jury almost three weeks ago.

He told the jury that the issue for them to decide upon at the conclusion of the trial is whether Ms Moore was ‘part of’ the fatal attack upon Mr Ali, and whether she ‘shared an intention to cause him either really serious harm or to kill him’.

Ms Moore has previously told the jury that, at the time of the killing, she earned money to fund her addiction to crack cocaine and benzodiazepines through sex work; and that prior to the fatal attack, she met Mr Ali to buy drugs from him and to discuss providing him with ‘some business’.  

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Giving evidence last week, Ms Moore said Males A and B gave her Mr Ali’s phone number after they were unable to provide her with the crack cocaine she asked for.

Ms Moore denied being used as ‘bait’ to lure Mr Ali out into the open, and told the jury that her intention when she arranged to meet Mr Ali was to buy crack cocaine from him, and to discuss his request for her to provide him with some ‘business’.

It is the prosecution’s case, Mr Kealey has previously explained, that a possible motive for the attack is ‘drugs’ and the fact that Ms Moore and Males A and B believed Mr Ali was dealing crack cocaine ‘on their patch’. 

Mr Kealey has told the jury that all three defendants are alleged to have had involvement with the ‘Frank’ drugs phone line, which was in operation in Sheffield at the time of Mr Ali’s death. 

Ms Moore denies one count of murder.

The trial continues.