by Footballer Cody Fisher was bludgeoned to death inside a nightclub on Boxing Day as a “planned act of payback” after a minor incident on Christmas Eve involving one of his three killers, a court has heard.
Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court were told that Remy Gordon carried out a “horrendous revenge” on December 26, 2022, after Mr Fisher briefly “inevitably” touched his back as he left a crowded bar with a friend two days earlier.
Gordon, 23, is standing trial alongside Kami Carpenter, 22, and 19-year-old Reegan Anderson, who all deny murdering Mr Fisher at the Crane nightclub in Digbeth shortly before midnight on Boxing Day .
Opening the case against the three on Tuesday, prosecutor Michael Duck KC told jurors: “The prosecution say these three were part of a joint attack in which everyone was or knew that there were knives.”
Mr. Fisher, 23, was stabbed in the chest, penetrating a valve in his heart, and was declared dead at the scene, the court heard, although a friend close to the victim was chased and kicked but he managed to get to his feet and escape. .
Explaining the alleged motivation for the killing, Mr Duck said: “The prosecution say this was a planned concerted attack involving extreme violence.
“There was no way Cody Fisher was attacked. It wasn’t a flash of emotion – it was a planned act of retribution.”
Stating that the jury may find it difficult to understand the motive behind the attack, Mr Duck said: “The loss of Cody Fisher’s life appears to be related to a minor falling out that he had with Remy Gordon about 48 hours before his death.”
The incident happened earlier at the Popworld club in Solihull, Mr Duck said.
“It was packed,” Mr Duck said of the venue. “The inevitable consequence is that people will come into contact with each other in that environment.
“It is simply inevitable.
“Cody Fisher and Remy Gordon got together that night.
“Cody Fisher (and the close friend who later chased him at Crane nightclub) were making their way towards the exit.
“They had to move through the crowd of people. Tragically, Remy Gordon was among that crowd.
“There was a brief contact between Cody Fisher and Remy Gordon’s back, it seems.
“It looks like Cody Fisher just touched Remy Gordon’s back. Remy Gordon was looking for an argument with someone.”
Referring to social media messages later sent by Gordon, Mr Duck told the jury: “It is clear from the evidence that, apart from Mr Gordon admitting there was no malice… he decided to challenge Cody Fisher .”
Mr Fisher was not prepared to apologise, after doing nothing wrong and being threatened with violence, the court heard, and left the club with his friend.
Mr Duck said of Gordon: “He was out for compensation which ultimately led to the loss of young Cody Fisher’s life at Crane nightclub.
“The bulk of his damage can be gleaned from messages sent within about 50 minutes of the contact with Popworld.
“He felt a little embarrassed and frustrated that he couldn’t intimidate a member of the public.”
Gordon allegedly sent messages on Snapchat to friends about 45 minutes after the initial incident, asking for help in identifying a photo showing Mr Fisher and threatening to “shake” him.
“The prosecution say within three quarters of an hour of that little incident that happened in Popworld you can see how Remy Gordon felt about it and what he planned to do about it,” Mr Duck said.
Gordon, of Cofton Park Drive, Birmingham, and Carpenter and Anderson, both of no fixed address, also deny affray charges.
Mr Fisher, a former Birmingham City academy member who also played for Stratford Town and Bromsgrove Sporting, died at the scene.
Mobile phone footage of Mr Fisher lying on the floor after being stabbed in the chest and leg was shown to the court, as well as other footage which showed part of the attack on his friend.
After the footage was shown to the jury, Mr Duck held up the “ferocious” knife, used to kill Mr Fisher – which was in a transparent plastic box – so the jury could see its size.
Revealing what he described as “one of the shocking details of the case”, Mr Duck told the jury: “That weapon was recovered – it was recovered by the medical team when they arrived put medicine on him and he was still embedded in his chest as he was. lie on the ground.”
Jurors were shown CCTV images of three defendants arriving at the Crane club and copies of Snapchat messages sent between Gordon and Carpenter in the hours before they arrived there.
One message referred to “balls” and another asked “can I get a tip there”.
A third electronic chat – allegedly showing “sinister intentions” on Gordon’s part – said he was “trying to snitch on someone”.
Mr Duck said: “Mr Gordon intended to wear a suit. He was debating which weapons should be brought into the premises. And he intended to revisit the Christmas Eve events with Mr. Fisher.
“It’s alarming because that summary of the case could be in the hands of the jury, the prosecution says this is the only sensible analysis of what happened.”
The court was also told a mutual friend of one of the defendants and Mr Fisher suggested that he and the semi-professional footballer had left Crane nightclub because of Gordon’s presence at the venue.
“Cody Fisher indicated that he was not willing to leave the premises and be intimidated in that way,” Mr Duck said.
The trial continues.
