Words by Ed King
All three men charged with the Boxing Day murder of Cody Fisher (23) pleaded not guilty in a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court today, Friday 17 March.
Appearing via video link, Kami Carpenter (21), Remy Gordon (22), and Erdington teenager Reegan Anderson (18) also pleaded not guilty to a further charge of affray.
The three men accused have been detained in separate prisons across the West Midlands: HMP Brinsford (Wolverhampton), HMP Hewell (Worcestershire), and HMP Birmingham (Winson Green).
Presiding over the hearing, Judge Melbourne Inman KC set a trail date for 3 July, advising the court and defendants the case could take up to four weeks to be heard in full.
If found guilty of murder, all three men – tried as adults – would be looking at a mandatory life sentence.
Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, affray refers to violent conduct in public setting ‘such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness… to fear for their own personal safety’ and could carry a sentence of up to three years following a conviction.
Cody Fisher was fatally stabbed at the Crane nightclub, Digbeth, on Boxing Day last year – pronounced dead at the scene despite the best efforts of emergency services attending the incident.
Mr Fisher was a semi-professional footballer from Redditch, who had been part of the Blues Academy and played for teams in Bromsgrove, Stourbridge, and Stratford.
Following the killing on 26 December, Kami Carpenter and Remy Gordon were initially arrested – with Erdington’s Reegan Anderson the last to be formally charged on 12 January 2023.
During the hearing on Friday 17 March, which was to establish the defendants’ pleas and for the court to outline their preparation for trial, the defence counsels for each man accused were asked if they accepted the fact each individual was at the Crane nightclub on the evening of Cody Fisher’s death.
All three defendants, answering through their counsels, admitted “presence” at the nightclub but denied “participation” in the charges brought against them.
As part of their preparation for trial, the defence counsels went on to request access to the “DNA statistics” surrounding the attack, and CCTV footage taken from the Digbeth venue from 6:30pm on the night in question.
Defending Reegan Anderson, Mr Bell also made a request for access to the “telephone evidence” regarding his client – which the court identified should be made available by the end of April.
Judge Melbourne Inman KC was also clear with the court that any witnesses required to appear should be confirmed as early as possible, as the trial will begin around the summer holidays and they would need to plan accordingly.
Kami Carpenter, Remy Gordon, and Erdington teenager Reegan Anderson have all denied the charges of murder and affray brought against them, with the trail set to begin on 3 July.
