Kettering man Ryan Burton was walking his dog when he was allegedly attacked with a machete in Spring Rise Park
A stark camera image of Ryan Burton about to seek help after an attack in a Kettering park has been shown to a crown court jury.
A Northampton Crown Court jury has heard how Mr Burton, who died six days after the incident in Spring Rise Park, Kettering, dashed down Highfield Road to try to seek help moments after he was allegedly attacked with a machete.
Because of the nature of his wounds, the jury was shown only a short snapshot of Mr Burton in Highfield Road following the attack after he had suffered appalling injuries.
Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC yesterday (Monday, September 8) completed his three-day opening of the case.
Six men are charged with the alleged murder of Ryan Burton. The prosecution alleges that Ace Hill, 19, Kyle McSkimming, 24, Keiton Underwood, 20, Connor White, 25, Cameron Williams-Ferguson, 24 were on the scene at the time of the attack. They say a youth, aged 17, from Nottingham, sold them the murder weapon and that he knew its purpose when he handed it over.
During the first session of yesterday’s hearing, the jury was taken through the moments immediately before the attack.
Mr Burton left house to walk dog
They saw CCTV and doorbell camera footage of five men on e-bikes and a stolen motorbike gathering in Netherfield Road, next to a footpath entrance to Spring Rise Park at 6.39pm on January 10 this year. The group appeared to have an argument before going into the park.
At exactly the same time, Ryan Burton was leaving his house in Spring Rise on the other side of the park to walk his dog.
Footage showed him leaving his house, walking down Spring Rise, turning right along Whiteford Road and back along Highfield Road towards the park.
The jury was shown a clip of him walking past a home towards the park 6.46pm, which turned out to be thdte final time he was seen before being attacked. Three minutes later he arrived back at a house in Highfield Road seeking help, after being attacked.
At 6.51pm, the prosecution alleges the e-bikes and motorcyle left Spring Rise Park and travelled up Boddington Road, pausing at London Road.
More footage showed the bikes splitting up at the junction of Wallis Road and Silverwood Road.
One of the e-bikes and a motorbike, the prosecution says, travelled across the town to Bannister Road, and stopped at the house of the girlfriend of defendant Keiton Underwood.
One of the e-bikes, carrying a pillion passenger, was seen at various locations in the town including High Street, before turning into Newland Street at 7.28pm. It then returned to Bath Road, and the house where two of the defendants had been seen much earlier in the day.
Trip to Tesco
The jury was then shown a series of images alleged to be Ace Hill, walking out of Bath Road and into Cedar Road, where he stood outside the shops and outside the Cordwainer Pub until 7.50pm, when he was seen getting into a taxi.
Then at 8.22pm his taxi arrived at Tesco close to St Edward’s Church, where Hill was alleged to have got out and gone into the shop.
Clear CCTV images were shown to the jury said to show Hill walking into the shop before leaving nine minutes later, and taking a taxi to Northampton.
The court also saw a Vauxhall Mokka that had been parked at the Bath Road house being driven by a man known to some of the defendants.
It was spotted on camera driving along Highfield Road at 7.13pm, as the emergency services were seeing to Mr Burton and as his dog was being returned by a concerned onlooker.
Prosecuting, Mr Aspden said: “Where is it going, and who is inside it, members of the jury?
‘Yo, man is fighting for his life’
In the hours after the murder it was then seen allegedly seen taking several passengers to a block of flats in Rutland Street, where a man believed to be Keiton Underwood got out and was seen on the camera doorbell carrying a large Aldi bag into the building.
The Mokka then shuttled repeatedly between Bath Road and the flats over the next few minutes, carrying several passengers.
A man again alleged to be Underwood then got out of the car and could be seen on camera on the phone saying ‘Yo, man is fighting for his life.’
Then at 9.45pm the Mokka was driven to Rothwell, stopping near the Spencer Street home of Connor White.
The jury was shown White, with his girlfriend, with both with their heads covered, visiting Tesco in Rothwell at 10.19pm.
CCTV pictures were then shown of White and his girlfriend leaving Kettering Railway Station wearing the same outfits the following day (Saturday, January 11) before travelling to Leicester and staying in the Hilton Hotel at Fosse Park, returning on Sunday, January 12. White was shown allegedly with two separate mobile phones in his hands.
The trial continues.