Three men jailed for life for murder of Norwich teenager Joe Dix
Det Supt Phill Gray read a statement outside court on behalf of Joe Dix's family
Three men who stabbed an 18-year-old to death on a housing estate have been jailed for at least 20 years.
Joe Dix was found lying in a road with serious knife wounds in the Vale Green area of Norwich on 28 January 2022. He had been stabbed seven times. He died in hospital an hour later.
A post-mortem examination found that he had died from a hypovolemic shock, and a stab wound to the torso.
Three men from Norwich - Cameron Palmer, 19, of Theobald Road, Hans Beeharry, 20, of Abbey Court, and Benjamin Gil, 19, of Lefroy Road - had all denied murder.
But they were convicted by a jury at Norwich Crown Court in August and on Wednesday Palmer and Gil were jailed for life, with a minimum term of 21 years.
Beeharry was jailed for life with a 20-year minimum term.
During the trial, CCTV was played in court showing Mr Dix being chased by Palmer, Gil and Beeharry and then, as he returned into view, staggering towards his home.
Palmer, Beeharry and Gil had all been involved in a County Lines drugs’ line in Norwich selling Class A drugs.
During their investigation, detectives discovered Mr Dix had received a phone call from a friend who was a County Lines drug dealer who operated out of a flat in Vale Green – later described as a “crack den” - and told him he was being robbed.
It emerged Palmer had been involved in organising the same robbery.
Police said the trio made "every effort to cover their tracks" by setting fire to the clothes they had worn, getting rid of their knives – which have never been recovered - and attempting to destroy their phones by throwing them into the River Yare.
Det Super Phill Gray said: “They went to extreme lengths to cover their tracks and did everything possible to destroy evidence and now, they’re behind bars.
“Our thoughts remain with Joe’s family and friends and while today’s sentencing will never bring him back to them, I hope it gives them some closure. They continue to face a future without him, and I know his family miss him terribly.
“What’s happened here should serve as a warning to anybody carrying a knife.
"Palmer, Beeharry and Gil were teenagers starting out in life, teenagers who chose to carry knives, chose to go to Vale Green, chose to chase Joe and chose to stab him seven times.
"They were intent on violence and left him for dead. I’d appeal to anyone who thinks it’s acceptable to carry knives, look at what happened here: lives have been lost and destroyed. Please make a different choice.”
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