Byron Griffin: Four men convicted of murder after fight stabbing

Byron Griffin was found injured in Ilkeston and died in hospital

Four men have been convicted of murdering a man who was fatally stabbed in Derbyshire.

Byron Griffin, 22, was found stabbed in Eyre's Garden, Ilkeston, on 4 July 2021 and later died in hospital.

Dylan Geary, 22, Daniel Lewsley, 32, Jordan Fairbrother, 26, and Grant James Masterson, 29, all originally from Ilkeston, were unanimously found guilty after a trial at Derby Crown Court.

The four men will be sentenced on 28 February.

The trial previously heard how the men lay in wait to "ambush" Mr Griffin.

The court was told a fight broke out when Mr Griffin, from East Leake, arrived outside flats where all four defendants were armed.

Mr John Lloyd-Jones QC said Mr Griffin "was unarmed, separated from his friends and was effectively defenceless".

'Bittersweet' verdicts

Mr Lloyd-Jones said the defendants were either already armed or would get a weapon.

This, he said, showed the attack was a pre-planned "ambush".

After being found stabbed, Mr Griffin was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham where he was pronounced dead.

Zoe Cooke, Mr Griffin's mother, said the verdicts were "bittersweet".

She said: "Nothing will ever be enough justice for losing my beautiful boy Byron.

"He was my best friend, and I worshipped the ground he walked on.

"My family and I are broken. I know that one day these men will walk free and live their lives and we will live with the fact that Byron is gone forever.

"Our family has been destroyed beyond belief. Byron had so much to live for and was genuinely loved by so many.

"We will miss him forever but can say that justice has been done."