Rotherham drug gang raped and tortured to death man locked in cellar, court told

Adam Clapham, 31, was found dead at a house in Spring Street, Rotherham

A drug gang tortured and raped an addict who they locked in a cellar before murdering him over the theft of £300, a court heard.

Adam Clapham, 31, was found dead with hundreds of injuries at a house in Rotherham in September 2022.

Prosecutors told Sheffield Crown Court drug dealers who operated out of the house had "punished" him to "send out a message that they should not be crossed".

Six people are on trial for his murder.

The five men and one woman are also charged with the rape and false imprisonment of Mr Clapham and a second man, who cannot be named, as well as two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The victims were locked in the cellar of the house on Spring Street in the early hours of 18 September last year and subjected to "very serious violence and humiliation" while they were filmed with a mobile phone, the court heard.

Mr Clapham died of his injuries but the second man survived and was found badly injured and barefoot lying on the ground in Rotherham town centre that night.

Police found Mr Clapham's naked body in a sleeping bag in the dining room of the house in Spring Street, where murder accused Arbab Yusuf, 24, is alleged to have run a drugs business.

Weapons used

Opening the trial on Thursday, prosecutor Mark McKone KC said: "The two victims were blamed for £300 of drugs money going missing from that address.

"The prosecution say that Adam and [the second man] were punished because the drug dealers believed they had stolen the money. It was also important for drug dealers to send out a message that they should not be crossed."

Mr Clapham was found with 52 head injuries and 162 injuries to other parts of his body, including his torso and limbs, the court heard.

Mr McKone said: "Most of the injuries were caused by blunt force, probably punches, kicks and or stamps and the use of more than one weapon."

A post-mortem examination found he was likely to have died from a brain injury caused by blunt force trauma and "significant blood loss".

Mr Yusuf, 24, of Lord Street, Rotherham; Muhammad Ashraf, 18, of Fraser Road, Rotherham; Kieron Millar, 30, of Mount Pleasant Road, Rotherham; Robert Crookes, 31, of no fixed abode; Lynette Myers, 39, Hounsfield Crescent, Rotherham; and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named, all deny the charges.

A seventh defendant, Martin Shaw, 44, of Norfolk Court, Rotherham, denies one charge of assisting an offender.

The trial continues.