Cody Fisher: two men found guilty of Birmingham nightclub murder
The 23-year-old semi-professional footballer was fatally stabbed at Crane nightclub in Digbeth on Boxing Day 2022.
Last updated 15th Apr 2024
Two men have been found guilty of the murder of semi-professional footballer Cody Fisher at a Birmingham nightclub.
The 23-year-old was fatally stabbed on the dancefloor of the Crane nightclub in Digbeth, on Boxing Day 2022, in an alleged "revenge attack" for an incident two days earlier.
Kami Carpenter, 22, of no fixed address, Remy Gordon, 23, of Cofton Park Drive, and Reegan Anderson, 19, of Erdington, all denied charges of murder and affray.
Carpenter and Gordon have been found guilty following an eight-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Gordon, 23, was also found guilty of affray, while 22-year-old Carpenter, who was found guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to one, was found not guilty of the same charge at the Crane, relating to an attack on a friend of Mr Fisher.
Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court were told Gordon, orchestrated the "awful revenge" after Mr Fisher made brief "unavoidable" contact with his back while leaving a club in Solihull on Christmas Eve.
Fellow defendant Reegan Anderson, 19, was found not guilty of murder and not guilty of an alternative charge of manslaughter but guilty of affray and was bailed until a sentencing hearing after Easter.
Some family members in the public gallery cried and stormed out of the courtroom upon hearing the verdicts, which were delivered on Monday afternoon after jurors deliberated for more than 28 hours.
Mr Fisher had played for several non-league clubs in the Midlands, including Stratford Town and Bromsgrove Sporting. He had also played for Birmingham City's academy.
Following his death, a number of memorial matches were held in his honour, and helped fundraise for his family and several charities.
The family of Cody Fisher have said his murder "ruined everybody's life" after two men were convicted of killing him.
Tracey Fisher described her son Cody as her "youngest boy, best friend and her angel", in a tribute released by West Midlands Police.
It said: "Cody's father, brother and the rest of his living family who miss him dearly are suffering. Cody truly never had a bad bone in his body. He loved teaching young children.
"He loved, cared for and respected his family. He had more living to do and so much more love and kindness to give to the world.
"Cody taught us all so much about ourselves and we miss him every single minute of every day.
"I will not get to see him go on to do more amazing things, like inspire many more children and adults as he used to do, have holidays with him and go to his footy matches every week to see him kick a ball, like he'd done from the day he could walk.
"Sadly, I will never see my son live on through his children and as such never enjoy any grandchildren from him.
"Cody Fisher was brave, fearless and the most genuine soul I knew. I had the pleasure and honour to call him my son. May you rest in peace my beautiful boy."
Mrs Fisher told BBC News: "The evilness and the cowardliness of those individuals that did that to him for nothing - who even does that?
"So you can bump into somebody in a pub or a club or whatever, accidentally, and that is the repercussion? To be that evil?"
Mr Fisher's girlfriend Jess Chatwin, who was with him at the nightclub when he was stabbed and called the police, told BBC News: "The first thing I thought (was that) he'd been knocked out, so I was trying to wake him up.
"Then I thought I need to put him in the recovery position so he doesn't choke, and that's when I put my hand down and that's when I felt the knife."
Mr Fisher's brother Stephen said: "It's just ruined my family, it's ruined everybody's life.
"We all kind of lived and done our best for Cody and now he's no longer here.
"It's hard to come to terms with what to do."
Crane, the nightclub where Mr Fisher was fatally stabbed, was closed permanently in January 2023 after having its operating licence removed by Birmingham City Council.