Friends and relatives of Sheffield murder victims reveal devastation caused by stabbings in new documentary

The documentary is by leading knife crime prevention group Always An Alternative, which was set up by campaigner Anthony Olasenide to challenge and educate young people on knife crime and gang culture in Sheffield. The group has received widespread acclaim for their work, which includes running workshops in schools, youth clubs and prisons, as well as hosting frequent weapons amnesties.

Their latest project is a 15-minute documentary called ‘Victims Voices’ which seeks to highlight the effects knife crime can have on victims’ friends and families.

Anthony said: “The idea comes from how difficult it is to really educate people on knife crime. I feel like there’s a disconnect between people and knife crime, a lot of people think they can’t actually be affected by it which plays a big part in some of the problems we’re facing.

“I thought that if I got some of the victims together and paint a picture of the true devastation caused by knife crime it could make people think ‘this could actually happen to me’ and realise how serious this is.”

The documentary focuses on the deaths of two people in Sheffield. The first is Marcus Ramsey, a 35-year-old father-of-two who was stabbed to death in August 2020 while trying to protect his brother at a house party in the Firth Park area. At his killer’s sentencing he was described as having “died a hero” by the judge.

Viewers hear from his friend Gemma Williams, a mental health nurse, who attempted to save his life. She said: “I remember him saying he was thirsty, and we gave him water to drink. Then I could see things were turning bad and then I just started CPR.

“I can’t remember how long I was doing it for, but all I remember at the time looking back is seeing the police there, just crowds, and being desperate for the ambulance to be there.

“If somebody loses their life, there’s so many people that that will affect. It’s just a ripple effect, and something needs to happen. Prevention is better than cure.”

The film also hears from the aunt of 21-year-old Kavan Brissett, who was also fatally stabbed in August 2018 in Upperthorpe. Five years later, nobody has been charged in relation to his death.

Aunt Libby Hamilton said: “He went out one day. I was at gymnastics with my two eldest when I got a phone call basically saying, Libby, Kavan’s been hurt and I think you should go to the hospital.

“I was thinking what do you mean he's been hurt? And she said, well he’s been stabbed.

“He was such a bright, bubbly, open, young man. He was so generous, so kind, he was so loving.

“The impact of Kavan being killed, being taken away in a sense that there was no good reason for it, my family’s never ever been the same. Everyone deals with grief differently, we’ve got a really big family, people find it hard to accept the way other people grieve, it causes friction, it’s just never been the same, ever again.”

Always An Alternative's ‘Victims Voices’ can be watched at Sheffield Town Hall on weekdays from March 21 to April 3, 9am to 5pm.