Bodmin stabbing: How a decision to buy a knife ended in tragedy

Jake Hill, 25, has been found guilty of murder after a six-week trial

On the face of it, Jake Hill had a lot to live for. The 25-year-old had a job as a carpenter, he had a one-year-old son and his partner told him she was pregnant again. But when he decided to buy a knife, it sparked a chain of events ending in tragedy.

He used it to go on a rampage outside a Cornish nightclub, killing a popular rugby player and injuring four others.

Michael Riddiough-Allen, 32, was stabbed to death outside Eclipse Nightclub in Bodmin shortly after the venue closed in the early hours of 30 April 2023.

He was killed by Hill, who had already stabbed four people when Mr Riddiough-Allen attempted to stop him by moving him away from the crowd.

His bravery cost him his life.

Mr Riddiough-Allen, 32, died at the scene after being stabbed by Hill

After Mr Riddiough-Allen fell to the ground with a single stab wound to his stomach, Hill retreated from the scene.

Hours later, he crashed out of a loft where he was hiding from armed police.

Hill was found guilty of murder after a six-week trial at Truro Crown Court.

Two others Hill was with that night, Tia Taylor and Chelsea Powell, both 22 from Bodmin, were also charged.

Prosecutors alleged both Taylor and Powell had joined in with the attack on Mr Riddiough-Allen.

Taylor pleaded guilty to manslaughter as part of a plea deal and also admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice.

Powell was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter, but guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Hill told the jury he decided to buy the knife "completely by chance" from a friend for £20 because he liked the look of it.

For Mr Riddiough-Allen's family, it was a decision that would cause unimaginable grief.

"With no knife the devastating events of that night would not have happened," the family said in a statement read outside court.

"The presence and use of a knife turned to unmitigated violence, scarring injuries and haunting images that many will never forget.

"Michael watched that violence unfold in front of him, he felt a need to intervene to remove the threat and protect others.

"In this task, he lost his life."

The family of Michael Riddiough-Allen said the presence of a knife was "the evil of that night"

Hill's evening began in Wadebridge where he left his partner and son after spending the afternoon together. He had only found out his partner was pregnant the day before, which left him with mixed emotions.

On his way back to Bodmin, Hill told a jury he bumped into Powell, who he had not seen since he was a teenager.

Powell said they got chatting and started kissing after he told her he had split up with his partner. She said he also told her the baby was not his.

After some drinks at a pub, they eventually decided to catch a taxi to continue the night at the Eclipse.

Tia Taylor, Jake Hill and Chelsea Powell entering the Eclipse nightclub

Strapped to Hill's body was the knife, hidden from view by his man bag, which still had a pregnancy test inside it.

But realising he still had his knife on him when he went to enter the nightclub, he hid it in a hedge across the road.

After passing through a security check, the pair met up with Taylor inside.

The court heard Taylor and Hill had a brief relationship a few years previously, while Powell knew of her through a parents group.

Mr Riddiough-Allen and other rugby players were at the venue after attending an end-of-season awards dinner.

Dominic Cullip, one of Mr Riddiough-Allen's teammates, told the BBC the night had been "going brilliantly" before it quickly started to unravel after closing time.

"There was just a small little fight outside," he recalled.

"We just went to break it up and that's when it went into chaos."

Hill said he bought the knife because he liked the look of it. It cost £20

Hill, who left the club with Powell and Taylor, picked up his knife from the hedge and ran towards the fight as he thought someone he knew was involved and he "wanted to check she was OK".

He told prosecutors "just wanted to see what was going on".

Powell told the jury she got involved because she saw girls being attacked by men, but she said she did not know about the knife when the fight began.

Hill said he quickly became caught in a "stampede" and pulled out the knife to defend himself.

"I was in a state of fear," he told the jury.

"I waved it from left to right a couple of times and I managed to break out of the group."

The first four victims - Rhiannon Tompsett, Liam Phillips, Stefan Williams and Ryan Burger - were stabbed within 10 seconds.

Ryan Burger thought he was going to die after he was stabbed in the leg

Mr Burger told the BBC he thought he was going to die after he was stabbed in the leg.

"I was very scared," he said.

"The amount of blood that came out of my leg, obviously, I knew that's not normal… I didn't think that I would make it.

"The only thing that went through my mind at that time was: I want to phone my parents."

Mr Burger said he eventually managed to get hold of his mum while he was waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

He recalled: "I said goodbye and that I love them and she must tell my brother, my dad and my sister that I love them dearly."

The jury heard how Mr Riddiough-Allen was not involved in any of the scrapping, but took a brave decision to remove Hill from the crowd.

He was only stabbed once in the stomach but the blade went in deep and severed two major arteries. He died at the scene.

Dominic Cullip said Mr Riddiough-Allen "paid the ultimate sacrifice" for his bravery

Mr Cullip said Mr Riddiough-Allen was courageous for trying to stop the violence.

"He was a hero," he said.

"He'd done what he could to isolate the situation, but he paid the ultimate sacrifice."

Mr Burger, who underwent hours of surgery after the attack, said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He [Hill] just went on a rampage and stabbed whoever was in front of him at that point," he said.

"And I ended up in front of him."

He said it was a "cowardly act" to use the knife on others.

"No other life is more important than yours," he said.

"If you carry a knife, you intend to use it… you've always got the chance of taking someone else's life.

"By using that knife and taking someone else's life, it means that you think your life is more important than his, and it's not."