Philip Woodcock murder: FedEx driver Ronald Sekanjako jailed

Philip Woodcock was fatally injured on 2 November 2022

A courier driver who stabbed his manager to death after being suspended from work has been jailed for life.

Ronald Sekanjako murdered Philip Woodcock, 60, at a FedEx depot in Hellaby, Rotherham, on 2 November 2022.

At Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, Sekanjako, 49 and of Bellhouse Road, Sheffield, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 27 years.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Woodcock's family said his death had "brought us to our knees".

During a five-day trial at Sheffield Crown Court last week, it was heard Sekanjako had been suspended from work on 2 November last year after failing to pay for fuel the day before.

Sekanjako, who had been in financial difficulty, believed FedEx had not paid him properly despite records later disproving his perception.

After being told of his suspension, Sekanjako armed himself with two knives and a hammer and confronted managers at the Hellaby warehouse.

Deputy station manager Philip Woodcock tried to resolve the dispute but was fatally stabbed three times by Sekanjako in front of horrified colleagues.

Emergency services at the scene in Rother Way, Hellaby, where Philip Woodcock suffered fatal injuries

A post mortem concluded the father-of-two had died from a stab wound to his heart.

On Friday, a jury of eight men and four women convicted Sekanjako of murder, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and three counts of possession of an offensive weapon.

Passing sentence on Monday, Judge Graham Reeds KC, said Sekanjako had denied killing Mr Woodcock despite "overwhelming evidence" and had shown no remorse.

Judge Reeds told the defendant Mr Woodcock had been a kind and committed family man who had been looking forward to his hard-earned retirement.

"He was entitled to look forward to the rest of his life, to enjoy it with family and friends," Judge Reeds said.

"You snatched all of that away from him with your self-obsessed and brutal violence."

Ronald Sekanjako killed Philip Woodcock at a FedEx branch in Rotherham in November 2022

Judge Reeds said there was "no mitigation I can see" and said Sekanjako's complaints of discrimination were "not true" and used "to minimise the seriousness" of his actions.

Sekanjako showed no emotion when the sentence was passed.

He was also sentenced to nine months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which will run concurrently.

The court heard Sekanjako, who was born in Uganda, had a previous conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm from 2013.

'Emotional blow'

In a statement read out in court, Mr Woodcock's brother said his death had been an "emotional blow which has brought us to our knees".

"We still struggle to eat and sleep, we all feel so much more vulnerable, limiting contact with the outside world," he said.

"We no longer trust people as we once did or give them the benefit of the doubt.

"The loss of Phil has destroyed everything we once enjoyed.

"He was the most considerate, gentle, caring person. No-one could ever comprehend that he would suffer violence of any kind."

Mr Woodcock's son said he thought of his father every day, adding: "The best man I ever knew was snatched away in the prime of his life."

Mr Woodcock's wife said the details of her husband's murder would "always haunt me".

"Phil didn't have a cruel illness or an unexpected accident," she said.

"He went to work one day and never came home. He was murdered by a person he was trying to help."