Killer remains at large almost 30 years since Sheffield nightclub boss was stabbed to death on its doorstep
Michael Baxendale, manager of famous city centre club Niche, suffered multiple stab wounds during an attack outside the Sidney Street venue
Nearly 30 years have passed since a Sheffield nightclub boss was stabbed to death in a brawl on the doors - however his killer remains at large.
Michael Baxendale, manager of famous city centre club Niche suffered multiple stab wounds during an attack outside the Sidney Street venue 28 years ago - at 8am on Sunday October 11, 1998.
The 48-year-old dad-of-two was manager of the famous venue - a major name on the UK’s rave scene - owned by his brother Steve at the time.
Two bouncers were also injured in the knife attack - with investigative theories suggesting a group from Manchester thrown out of the club earlier in the night could have been involved.
Detectives investigating the attack said bricks and bottles were found at the crime scene as well as multiple pools of blood.
Michael, of Eden Grove, Swallownest, was a former advanced karate instructor and a doorman in Skegness before he took over the management of Niche.
On the anniversary of her beloved dad’s death in 2020, his daughter Traci Baxendale-Ball described how the killing sparked PTSD.
Traci was 28 when her dad was killed and living in America. The renowned trauma recovery expert and University of Sheffield graduate had her own private practice in Michigan.
Speaking about the experience, the mum-of-three said: “I had been working in the field of trauma recovery for quite a few years when my dad was killed.
“I was not a stranger to complex trauma because of some incidents in my childhood, then there was the murder.
“Dad’s death was awful and I experienced PTSD. It was very difficult to deal with the grieving process when I was 5,000 miles away and they did not find the person who killed him.
“My sister and I have never been able to have closure because of that.”
Back in 1998 when Michael was killed there were hundreds of clubbers at the venue but witnesses failed to come forward in numbers. Arrests were made but nobody was ever charged.