Sex worker guilty of luring man to fatal stabbing

Mr Ali smiles at the camera. He has a black beard and hair and is wearing a grey hoodie.
Image source, South Yorkshire Police
Image caption,

Sacad Ali was stabbed to death at The Ponderosa in Sheffield in March

  • Published

A sex worker accused of luring a 24-year-old man to his death has been found guilty of murder.

Rebecca Moore, 25, acted as "bait" to entice Sacad Ali to Sheffield's Ponderosa where he was stabbed to death by rival drug dealers in March.

Moore, of Springvale Walk, Sheffield, was found guilty of murder by a jury at the city's crown court on Monday.

She will be sentenced alongside two teenage boys, aged 16 and 18, who previously pleaded guilty to murder and possession of an offensive weapon on 25 November.

The jury previously heard how Moore called Mr Ali in the early hours of 9 March under the guise of wanting to buy crack cocaine and offer her services as a sex worker.

During the meeting at The Ponderosa, she sent several text messages to a phone line used by the boys to make them aware of Mr Ali's movements.

It was heard the teenagers, who cannot be named due to their age, had been involved in running a drug supply line and decided to attack Mr Ali "to stop him from selling drugs in their area".

A witness described seeing the boys holding knives towards Mr Ali who shouted "please leave me alone" before he was fatally stabbed.

Moore denied any responsibility for his death but a jury returned a guilty verdict after deliberating for three hours.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here, external.

Related topics