Four men found guilty of the murder of Lincoln man Sam Davies

23 year old Sam Davies was found with suspected knife wounds last May

Author: Julie CastonPublished 6th Apr 2022

Four men have been found guilty of the murder of Lincoln man Sam Davies

Joe Jameson, 24 of Whitehall Terrace, Lincoln, Daniel Heydari, 25 of Chestnut Street, Lincoln, Eimantis Gochman, 20 of Sturton Close, Lincoln and Billy Gill, 21 of Hatcliffe Gardens, Lincoln were found guilty by a jury of murder at Nottingham Crown Court.

They will be sentenced at a later date.

Three defendants charged with murder were today acquitted by a jury. They were Eric Kesel, 19 of Browning Drive, Lincoln, Charlie Wakefield, 21 of Broxholme Gardens, Lincoln and a 17-year-old Lincoln male who cannot be legally identified due to his age.

23 year old Sam Davies was found with suspected knife wounds at a property in Coleridge Gardens last May, he was taken to hospital and later died.

Officers arrived and a scene guard was put in place shortly after 11pm. The Ambulance Service also attended, and the court heard how paramedics performed open heart surgery on Sam in an attempt to save his life. Sam was taken to hospital but sadly succumbed to his injuries a while later.

Five men were arrested within three days and subsequently charged. They were, Jameson, Heydari, Kesel, Gochman, and Wakefield.

After obtaining mobile phone data, data from Snapchat as well as the information gathered from the public as a result of media appeals, officers were also able to arrest and charge a further two males in connection with Sam’s murder. They were Gill and the 17-year-old male.

During the trial, the court heard how Gochman was waiting in a park between Coleridge Gardens and Browning Drive in the St. Giles area of Lincoln with a Rambo-style knife, which he used to inflict two deep stab wounds to Sam’s chest.

Detective Superintendent Richard Myszczyszyn, who led the investigation for the East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit (EMSOU), said:

“Through diligent police work, we were able to work quickly to apprehend the men responsible for the death of Sam Davies. It was a fast-moving investigation that presented challenges for the team, but I’m glad that we were able to bring these men to justice.

“I would like to thank my team who have worked tirelessly throughout the investigation to relentlessly pursue the men who callously took the life of Sam Davies. I'd also like to extend my thanks to the local community for their support and for their assistance with our appeals and enquiries throughout the investigation.”

Rachael Dean, Senior District Crown Prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said:

“This was a brutal killing, ordered and executed in cold blood, with its roots in wider criminal activity.

“While there was overwhelming evidence that Gochman had carried out the attack itself, he was not acting alone, and these defendants are every bit as responsible for Mr Davies’s death as if they had wielded the knife. Joe Jameson and Daniel Heydari had a grudge and involved the rest of the group in exacting their revenge.

“Proving that involvement has been a long and complex process and I hope seeing those responsible for Mr Davies’s death will be of comfort to Mr Davies’s family and loved ones. I would like to offer them my sincere condolences for their loss.”

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