Sex worker denies being 'bait' in drug murder plot

Sacad Ali died following an attack at The Ponderosa in Sheffield in March

A sex worker accused of killing a man has denied being "bait" in a murder plot centred around a drug dealing row.

Rebecca Moore, 25, said she did not know Sacad Ali, 24, would be fatally stabbed when she met him at The Ponderosa in Sheffield on 9 March.

Two teenage boys, who cannot be named due to their age, pleaded guilty to murder and possessing an offensive weapon earlier this year.

At Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, Ms Moore, of Springvale Walk, Sheffield, denied intending for Mr Ali to be seriously hurt or murdered.

Prosecutor Simon Kealey KC told the jury during an earlier hearing Mr Ali had been fatally attacked by the teenagers "to stop him from selling drugs in their area".

The court heard Ms Moore had set up a meeting with Mr Ali to buy crack-cocaine in the early hours of 9 March.

During the meeting, she said she sent text messages to a phone line used by the boys, aged 16 and 17, to make them aware Mr Ali was about to leave.

When asked by her barrister Mathew Sherratt KC why she had sent the message, she said: "Because they told me to.

"They were my drug dealers and I have to do what they say."

Ms Moore told the court she became aware of other people arriving at The Ponderosa when she heard shouting.

"They all started fighting. I was just stood along the pathway," she said.

"I saw them all bring out swords, all three of them."

Ms Moore described feeling "pure shock, fear and panic" before hiding in some nearby bushes.

Ms Moore told the jury she did not know what had caused the altercation or how serious Mr Ali's injuries would be.

She denied helping to organise the attack, saying: "I would never do anything like that."

Ms Moore said she saw the boys later that morning looking "sketchy".

"I asked them what they were doing," she said.

"I started to realise it was probably them in the park."

The court heard it had been suggested Ms Moore "boasted" about setting up the attack whilst in custody at HMP New Hall in Wakefield.

In response, Ms Moore said she had told an inmate that she had not killed Mr Ali.

She said she did not know the boys would attack him, had not discussed an attack with them and had not agreed to be “bait to effectively lure Mr Ali out into the open".

During cross examination, Mr Kealey KC asked if due to her addiction she "would do anything" when "desperate" for drugs.

"I wouldn’t do anything, but I’d buy some," Ms Moore said.

The trial continues.

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