Man stabbed to death while walking dog, court told

Kieran Shepherd died from his injuries after being attacked in Meadgate Avenue, Great Baddow, on 15 October 2024

A group of friends who called themselves the "three musketeers" chased down a man walking his dog before he was stabbed to death in broad daylight, a court has heard.

Kieran Shepherd, 30, was fatally injured in Meadgate Avenue in Great Baddow, near Chelmsford, Essex, on 15 October last year.

Joseph Dawe, 20, of Greenland Gardens in Great Baddow, Zack O'Keeffe, 20, of Stafford Green in Langdon Hills and Harrison Carpenter, 20, of Ben Wilson Link, Chelmsford, pleaded not guilty to murder earlier this year.

During the opening of the trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, the jury was played CCTV showing three men chasing Mr Shepherd and his dog down the street at 12:24 GMT.

Prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC told the court he had been stabbed in the back with a 15 to 30cm (6 to 12in) knife.

"The blade went into his left lung and heart with it coming out the other side," she told the jury.

Tributes were paid to Kieran Shepherd following his death

The court also heard a 999 call made at 12:30 GMT by the woman who found Mr Shepherd following the stabbing.

Ms Ayling said the woman said she had "just seen three men carrying a massive shank".

A shank is a colloquial term used for a weapon typically used to stab someone.

"I'm just a bit shaken up, I haven't seen anything like that," she told the call handler, adding that she saw "three men run past and all three boys were wearing balaclavas".

She described them as being armed with a "massive" knife.

Paramedics arrived and tried to save Mr Shepherd, but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 13:22 GMT.

Police started an investigation following the stabbing on 15 October last year

The court heard evidence from Mr Carpenter's girlfriend, Olivia McElvaney, who said the three defendants were all good friends and called themselves the "three musketeers".

In a statement read by the prosecution, Ms McElvaney said: "Zack was a drug dealer and did not try and hide it."

She described travelling in a car with the three men on the day of the stabbing before stopping suddenly - adding that the group was then out of the car "for about 30 minutes".

CCTV footage was played in court of the three men in a newsagents at 12:21, shortly before the stabbing.

Prosecutor Ms Ayling said Ms McElvaney recalled the men returning to the car and driving off immediately.

"She (Ms McElvaney) said Zack kept saying 'shut up, shut up', Ms Ayling said, adding that McElvaney reported seeing "what she thought was blood on Carpenter's jeans".

Ms McElvaney said she thought a knife in a sheath was passed to the back of the car and there was also talk of the need to burn clothes, Ms Ayling said.

They all drove to Mr Carpenter's grandmother's house in Stock, the court heard, before getting a lift to a caravan park in Clacton-on-Sea later that evening,

Mr Carpenter handed himself into police on the 16 October but refused to answer any of the officer's questions.

Instead, he read out a prepared statement that said: "I deny the allegation of murder, I do not have or use any weapon.

"I am not responsible for the killing of Kieran Shepherd."

Mr Dawe and Mr O'Keeffe "weren't located until October 18," Ms Ayling told the court.

The trial continues.