Sheffield: Men jailed for life for murdering father who intervened in attack on girl

Two men who murdered a father after he intervened to stop a girl being attacked have been jailed for life.

Reece Radford was stabbed to death by Louis James, 47, and Dereck Owusu, 40, in Sheffield city centre in the early hours of 29 September last year.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the defendants were "angry" that Mr Radford shouted racist remarks and confronted Owusu after he punched a teenage girl.

James was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in jail and Owusu to at least 15.

Jurors convicted the pair of murder last month.

The court heard James, of Manor Lane, Sheffield, and Owusu, of Strathmore Grove, Rotherham, were talking and drinking with the 17-year-old girl at a bus stop in Arundel Gate when Mr Radford passed by with a group of friends.

A violent brawl erupted after Mr Radford, 26, of Hillsborough, saw Owusu striking the teenager to the ground and stepped in to punch him.

Prosecutor David Temkin KC told the sentencing hearing on Thursday that during the ensuing melee James stabbed Mr Radford in the chest while Owusu kicked him in the head "with vigour" as he lay on his back in the middle of the road.

Owusu then stole Mr Radford's wallet and removed his own belt, which he "swung in a threatening manner" towards witnesses before fleeing, the court heard.

Mr Radford, who had a seven-month-old daughter at the time, died in hospital six days later.

His mother Laura Radford, in a statement read out in court by her partner Mick Houghton, said her "full family has been shattered" by the death of her son, who she described as "my best friend, my soulmate, my everything".

"Our hearts will never heal from the loss of Reece," she added.

Kate Lumsden KC, in mitigation for Owusu, said her client maintained he did not know James was carrying a knife.

She added there had been an "element of provocation" by Mr Radford, who the court heard had been removed from the city centre earlier that night by police for being drunk and aggressive.

Stephen Wood KC, representing James, suggested his client had used "unreasonable force to defend himself" after being pursued by Mr Radford during the fight.

James had shown remorse for the killing, added the barrister, who said: "He did not want Mr Radford to die."

Judge Sarah Wright rejected claims that Owusu did not know James was carrying a weapon.

She said both defendants had subjected Mr Radford, who was unarmed, to "serious violence" in a joint attack.

The judge told the defendants: "His daughter was just seven months old when you murdered him and she will grow up not knowing her father.

"His family are devastated and shattered by his loss and their lives will never be the same again."

James appeared in court over video link after a different prisoner with the same name was brought to court for the sentencing hearing, a mistake Ms Wright said was "quite astonishing".

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.