Mother of murdered Cody Fisher says she too was 'stabbed straight through the heart'

The mother and girlfriend of murdered footballer Cody Fisher have described their heartache during the sentencing of his killers.

The former Bromsgrove FC and Stratford Town player was stabbed to death on the dancefloor of Crane nightclub in Digbeth in Birmingham on Boxing Day 2022.

His killers Remy Gordon, 23 and Kami Carpenter, 22, have now been jailed for murder after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

Cody's mother Tracey Fisher spoke during the sentencing today, to say she too was 'stabbed straight through the heart that day', while his girlfriend Jessica Chatwin described the 'devastating reality that Cody will never be coming home.'

In a full victim impact statement Tracey Fisher said:

"Where does a mum start to tell the court the impact this has had upon her; firstly, it is not only me who is suffering, but Cody's father, Cody's brother and all the rest of Cody's loving family who miss him dearly.

"We all started our life sentences just a little over 12 months ago, when the saddest, most heartbreaking day in all of our lives happened.

"Since this horrendous day I feel that my own life has ended, it is as though I too was stabbed straight through the heart, I have seen myself go from the happiest outgoing person, to fighting the hell out of just getting through each and every horrendous, never ending, day, in the abhorrent knowledge that my youngest son, my best friend, is never coming home to sleep in his bedroom, the room that I still cannot enter even to this day.

"He was my best friend, my angel"

"I instilled in Cody from a young boy that he must stick up for himself and don't let anyone bully him, I told him that sad, weak individuals do exist in our society and they ruin lives, how ironic and saddening that this is exactly what has happened to Cody, he was only doing what his Mum told him to do and I think about this every day, but you never expect your child to be murdered.

"Who was my son Cody Fisher ? Well he was my best friend, my angel and truly never had a bad bone in his body.

"Cody loved teaching young children and was a P.E Teacher, he also played semi-professional football, which was his lifelong passion, he was a great athlete and also a barber.

"He loved, cared and respected his family including his dog, he had more living to do and so much more love and kindness to give to the world, Cody taught us all so much about ourselves and we miss him every single minute of every day.

"I will not get to see him go on to do more amazing things, like inspire many more children and adults as he used to do, have holidays with him and go to his footy matches every week, to see him kick a ball like he'd done from the day he could walk. Sadly I will never see my son live on through his children and as such never enjoy any grandchildren from him, now all I can do along with his dog is visit Cody's headstone, to try and make some sense of what happened to him.

"There can never be any forgiveness"

"How can anyone be so inhumane to take an innocent life, to put a family through this torture, the impact of having to sit at my son's coffin every day whilst in the chapel of rest, is something that only a parent would understand if they've been through it. Where does this end, sadly we know that there will be other parents and families who too are going to have to endure this senseless, horrific loss.

"There can never be any forgiveness for what they have done to us, it may have been evident that I have not been present at the trial, this is because whatever the result it will never put Cody back in our lives. The thought of having to see the people who took Cody from me, their iniquitous faces, have to listen to their abhorrent lies, blame each other and show no remorse for their actions is too much for a mother to bear.

"Cody Fisher was brave, fearless and the most genuine soul I knew, I had the pleasure and honour to call him my son, may you rest in peace my beautiful boy."

In a full victim impact statement Cody Fisher's girlfriend Jessica Chatwin said:

"No one can ever prepare themselves for losing a loved one, especially at the hands of another person people believe it would never happen to them.

"I was one of those people until my boyfriend Cody Fisher was brutally murdered. He was the love of my life, my friend and soulmate, losing the person you love more than anything is a different level of pain.

"At 23 years old I have had my whole world shattered when my loving, caring and generous Cody was cruelly murdered.

"Not only have I endured the pain of Cody's loss the past 14 months, but I also had to deal with the horrific events of that night, witnessing him being attacked and holding him as he took his last breath and died in my arms.

"Seconds before that moment I remember turning around and looking at Cody behind me and he gave me the biggest smile full of love and happiness, now I question if that was his goodbye.

"My life stopped that day"

"The next time I turned around he was surrounded by those attacking him and I watched him fall to the floor, then reality struck that he had been fatally stabbed.

"My life stopped that day, I will never get to have a fun-loving Christmas again, a date that will haunt me forever. I live each day with enormous pain, loneliness and sadness, losing Cody has had a huge impact on my mental health.

"I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with Cody. We had plans ready for the next year, places we were meant to go, and that has now been taken away from us for something so trivial, I believe to be nothing but jealousy and pride.

"I cannot find the words to explain the devastating reality that Cody will never be coming home. That we will never get to do the things we planned, share the life we promised each other. I now have to face the world without his love and guidance, something he always showed me while we were together.

"He was my strength in every situation and now I have to face it all alone. Because of what I witnessed on the 26th December 2022, I am constantly looking over my shoulder, frightened of what's behind me, and what might happen.

"Those responsible not only took away Cody's life but also my life as well. I find it a struggle to go out with friends without overthinking and taking dozens of anxiety tablets to calm my nerves.

"I now must endure heartbreaking counselling every week to try and cope with the pain and the grief I am now experiencing, although nothing has and ever will help. I no longer live the life I once had because they took it from me. The life we dreamed about has been ripped apart from me for no reason.

"I feel isolated and have distanced myself from my family and my friends because I hate the life I have to live now, because this is not the life I want without Cody in this world.

"To be honest nothing helps because the only thing that would help is if this didn't happen and Cody was still here. But that is not reality anymore, this is my life now and this will be the life I will live forever.

"The trauma I will never forget and will live in me forever, forever scared of who is around, being too scared to go to a local shop by myself driving by myself. I'm scared to sleep by myself because of the nightmares I have every night, of that horrific night replaying in my head every single night before I sleep.

"That night replays in my dreams I wake most nights in a panic and sweats because I feel like it's all happening again. I come across young couples, having everything I once had, everything I now grieve for knowing I won't get that back.

"I will forever look at the world differently. Not knowing who to trust or what could happen next. I am in constant fear of losing anyone close to me again, as I don't think my heart could take any more pain.

"I hate leaving my home because that is my safe space. I ... bury my head into the pillow hoping I will open my eyes again and be back with Cody. No sentence will be enough for the loss of Cody's life.

"But I will make sure that what you have done to Cody will not define who he was. My life will always be broken, until the day I am back with him".

During the trial of Cody Fisher’s killers, it emerged that the story started two days before Boxing Day, with a chance encounter on Christmas Eve at Popworld in Solihull between Cody Fisher and Remy Gordon.

It was a busy dancefloor, and the cramped conditions meant Cody had brushed past the back of Gordon while leaving the club.

Gordon confronted Cody about having been pushed, but the encounter ended without violence as Cody and Dan left the club for a lift home with Jess.

But Gordon harboured resentment, asking friends on a Snapchat group chat whether anyone knew who Cody Fisher was.

He had managed to acquire a photo of Cody from Instagram, and while sending it asked, “Who knows this little pip squeeze?”

Then he added: “Due to shank him up.”

The prosecution told the court this was a tragically accurate prediction of events to come, and concluded that Cody’s murder two days later “was not a flash of temper, but a planned act of retribution.”

Detective Inspector Michelle Thurgood, of West Midlands Police, said:

“It is shocking to me that Remy Gordon was so affronted by such a small incident that he sought to identify who the person was who had simply done no more than knocked into him.”

Gordon, Carpenter and Anderson all denied murder throughout the trial at Birmingham Crown Court, but evidence from witnesses placed them at the scene during Cody Fisher’s final moments.