Woman and two teenagers jailed for murdering Sacad Ali in Sheffield park
A woman and two teenagers who played their part in the murder of a man who was lured to a Sheffield park before being stabbed to death have been jailed.
Rebecca Moore, 25, Barney Griffin, 18, and 17-year-old Jack Douglas were sentenced today (28 November) at Sheffield Crown Court after being convicted of the murder of 24-year-old Sacad Ali, who died in Ponderosa Park in March 2024.
Moore was found guilty of murder on Monday 11 November after a 16-day trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
Griffin, of Dixon Drive, Sheffield, and Douglas, of Brightholmlee Lane, Sheffield, were convicted in May after pleading guilty to murder and possession of a bladed article at the same court.
Griffin and Douglas, who were 17 and 16, respectively, when they murdered Sacad, couldn’t previously be named due to legal reasons but can now be identified following a decision by the judge.
Sacad was playing video games and relaxing at a friend's flat in the Netherthorpe area of the city when he received a call from an unknown number just after 4am on Saturday 9 March 2024.
The call was made by Moore who convinced Sacad to leave the flat and meet her in the park. However, this proved to be a ruse, with Griffin and Douglas then appearing from the darkness to ambush Sacad and stab him to death with machetes.
Sacad begged for them to stop their relentless and brutal assault before his attackers fled the scene, leaving him to succumb to his injuries.
Despite the best efforts of paramedics and our own officers at the scene, Sacad died in Ponderosa Park shortly after 5am, prompting a murder investigation to be launched.
Detective Chief Inspector Ben Wood, who was the Senior Investigating Officer for this case, explains more about how the investigation unfolded and how it quickly led to murder charges being secured against Moore, Griffin and Douglas.
"After our officers arrived in Ponderosa Park, they immediately secured a large scene in order to preserve any possible pieces of evidence before they began gathering witness statements from as many people as possible who were in the area at the time.
"They provided physical descriptions of the attackers, including details of the clothes they were wearing, with these matching clothing we seized from Griffin's home following his arrest.
"Forensics work was also pivotal as blood recovered from near Oxford Street matched that of Griffin, with CCTV also proving crucial as this allowed us to track the movements of those involved and implicated Moore, Griffin, Douglas as the people involved in Sacad's murder."
After Moore was approached by an officer prior to her arrest, she lied about her name and age in order to try and evade justice.
The exchange was caught on body-worn video as the officer involved remained calm and waited for a picture of Moore to be sent through to his phone in order to confirm her identity.
With the net closing in on Griffin and Douglas, they handed themselves into police custody on the morning of Tuesday 12 March.
Following today's sentencing, Sacad's family have issued the following statement paying tribute to him:
“Sacad was a loving son and brother who was loved by all his family. He was the heart of our family and was always happy and smiling.
“All those who knew Sacad, knew how positive and happy he was. It feels like all the light out of our lives has been taken.
"Our lives have been completely broken by what has happened, and we will never be able to forget.
“We would like to thank everyone who helped Sacad and who came forward to assist the police.
“We would also like to thank DCI Ben Wood, DC Lisa Glover, DC Karen Edge and all the officers who have been involved in the investigation.”
They have continued to ask for privacy as they grieve the loss of Sacad.
DCI Ben Wood added:
"I know that today's sentencing won't bring Sacad back but I hope this gives his family, friends, loved ones and everybody who knew him some sort of closure as they try to rebuild their lives and recover from the grief inflicted upon them.
"The two teenagers murdered Sacad in a barbaric way, with Moore also murdering him by duping him into meeting and luring him to the spot where he would be brutally attacked.
"Rather than admit her guilt, Moore then made Sacad's loved ones relive the events of the day he died by making them endure a trial in court, after which she was found guilty of murder.
"A lot of exemplary detective and policing work went into this murder investigation and today's result is testament to everyone's hard work on this tragic case.
"Knife crime takes too many young people's lives, and it is heartbreaking that Sacad's life was ended in this manner.”
Moore was given a life sentence for murder, with a minimum term of 15 years.
After admitting murder and possession of a bladed article, Griffin was told he must serve 16 years in prison, with Douglas given a 15-year prison sentence.