Men convicted of killing Sheffield dad
A jury's found three men guilty of killing Sheffield dad Grant Bodell in 2014.
Three man have been found guilty of killing a Sheffield dad.
Grant Bodell died following a shooting in the Manor area of Sheffield almost two years ago.
The 23-year-old was found with gunshot wounds on parkland off Queen Mary Road in June 2014.
He was taken to hospital but never recovered.
A jury at Sheffield Crown Court found both 30 year old Marvis Smith, of Park Grange Road, Norfolk Park, and 22 year old Brendan McFarlane, of Hyde Park Terrace, Park Hill, guilty of murder (pictured above).
25 year old Stevin Pierre, of Water slacks Close, Woodhouse, (pictured below) was convicted of manslaughter.
A fourth man, 26 year old Torrington Smith, was cleared of murder and manslaughter.
The jury returned their verdicts on Wednesday, 17 February, finding Marvis guilty of murder and Pierre guilty of manslaughter.
They retired to further deliberate the charge against McFarlane, as well as a fourth man who was on trial, Torrington Smith.
They returned their verdicts on Friday, 19 February finding McFarlane guilty of murder and Torrington not guilty.
Grant's family have put out a statement:
“Grant was a loving son, brother and father who was cruelly taken from us in June 2014. Our lives have changed forever and will never be the same again.
“Never will he walk through our door to torment us and make us laugh, the laughter has now gone and there is a piece of our family missing.
“Grant may not have been an angel, but he did not deserve to lose his life in this way. His two young children have been left without a father, his brother and sisters have been left without their best friend and his mum and dad just feel lost without him."
Detective Superintendent David Barraclough, the Senior Investigating officer who led the murder investigation said:
“Mr Bodell’s death is a very tragic case that resulted from an incident that took place a few hours earlier that evening when a firearm was discharged outside a club.
“The investigation has been protracted and complex with detectives and officers relentlessly pursuing all lines of enquiry to ensure every aspect was investigated thoroughly for over 18 months.
“My thoughts and sympathies are with Mr Bodell’s family who have remained patient throughout the length of this investigation, and I can only hope the result today provides them with some form of comfort knowing that justice has been served.”
The earlier incident occurred on the evening of Friday, 20 June 2014, just hours before the murder took place, when Mr Bodell and his two associates, brothers Christopher and Corrie Allen, were at the Embassy Club on Mansfield Road in Intake.
Just before midnight, the three are seen leaving the club on CCTV, however they were then involved in a heated discussion outside with a larger group.
There was already history and a certain degree of animosity and ill-feeling between the larger group, who were associated to Marvis Smith, and the Allens.
Det Supt Barraclough added:
“The Allens and Mr Bodell left the club after the encounter, which had been captured on CCTV, but returned around half an hour later, with Corrie Allen in possession of a shotgun, in an attempt to intimidate the other group.
“The firearm was discharged but thankfully there were no injuries sustained by anyone. However, there is no doubt that this incident was the precursor to the murder of Mr Bodell.”
In the early hours of Saturday, 21 June, Mr Bodell and the Allen brothers were drinking in Manor Fields District Park, when Smith, McFarlane and Pierre approached the entrance from the direction of Bassledene Road.
The Allens fled further into the park however Mr Bodell was unable to because of a previous injury which slowed him down.
He was shot at least three times.
The post-mortem examination recorded that his death was caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
A large-scale police investigation was immediately launched with thorough forensic examinations of the scene taking place and days of evidence gathering, ensuring all the information retrieved was comprehensively investigated.
This included the precursor incident at the club, which led to the arrest and charge of the Allen brothers for their involvement.
In January 2015, Corrie, of Windyhouse Lane, Manor, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and Christopher, of Queen Victoria Road, Totley Rise, pleaded guilty to affray and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12-months.
Another strand of the investigation closely monitored the movements of Smith through covert tactics.
Det Supt Barraclough added:
“The complexity of the investigation deepened even further as through covert tactics used to determine who was involved in the murder, it became apparent that Smith and McFarlane, as well as another man, Abdullah Mohammed were involved in large scale drugs and firearms offences”.
The three men were charged with a number of offences including unlawful possession of a firearm and conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs.
Marvis was also charged with threats to kill a man he believed had provided information to the police about the murder of Mr Bodell.
As the offences were all intrinsically linked, they were included in the murder trial, however Mohammed, 23, of Addy Street, Sheffield, McFarlane and Smith all entered guilty pleas to these charges on the first day of the trial.
All three men, and Stevin Pierre, are due to be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court in due course. No date has currently been set.
Det Supt Barraclough continued:
“The result today should serve as a message to anyone who makes the decision to arm themselves with a weapon, regardless of how long it takes, we will identify you and bring you to justice."