South Shields alleged murder victim Fise Ames Abdou stabbed ten times in the legs, court hears

A man was fatally stabbed ten times in the legs during an attack on South Tyneside earlier this year, a court has heard.

Jurors at Newcastle Crown Court were told alleged murder victim Fise Ames Abdou suffered the knife attack in his bedroom, at the hands of three men in the early hours of 5 March.

Scott Mitchell, Shaun Riches and Michael Raine are accused of killing Mr Abdou, 25, at the flat in South Shields where he was staying.

It is claimed Mitchell and Riches attacked him while Raine prevented his housemate from going to his assistance.

One of the stab wounds to Mr Abdou's leg severed a vein and he bled to death despite efforts to save him, the court heard.

All three defendants deny murder.

Francis Fitzgibbon QC, prosecuting, said: “The world of these three defendants and their associates, including, sadly to say, the man who died, is a dark and dangerous world.

"They were drug users and they lived in a world where violence was commonplace.

“In the early hours of March 5 this year a man called Fise Ames Abdou was killed in his bedroom at an address on Marshall Wallis Road, in South Shields.

"He was stabbed at least ten times in both legs. Despite the efforts of paramedics, he bled to death.

“The prosecution say these defendants murdered him, most probably over drugs.”

CCTV clips, showing the movements of the accused before the alleged murder, were shown to the jury.

By about 12:45am on Saturday 5 March, they were on Marshall Wallis Road with their hoods up and went to Mr Abdou’s home.

Muffled audio of what prosecutors said was a disturbance in the flat, “at or perhaps just after” the attack, was also played to the court.The prosecution said there is evidence from Mr Abdou's childhood friend Brandon Cairns, at whose home he was staying at the time.

He added: “Sadly to say they were both drug addicts and sadder to say, neither was a stranger to committing crime to feed their drug habits.

"The drugs that Fise used included crack cocaine. He would rob others of their drugs or money, a practice known as taxing."

Jurors were told that on the evening of Friday 4 March, the pair had been out together smoking cannabis.

Shortly before the defendants arrived at the property, Mr Cairns got a phone call from someone asking if they could go round. Prosecutors said that was Mitchell.

Mr Fitzgibbon said: “Mr Cairns, shortly after the call, heard a knock and opened the door. He could see Raine, who he knew and two other men. Their faces were partly covered with balaclavas, he says. They came in, as he thought at the time, for a party.

“But, say the prosecution, Raine then produced a large knife and held it to Mr Cairns’ abdomen and said ‘I wouldn’t go in there if I was you’ or words to that effect.

"Ritches and Mitchell went into the bedroom where Fise was. He was in or on his bed.

"Mr Cairns heard fighting and raised voices from the room. A couple of minutes later they left the premises. Mr Cairns went into the bedroom and he saw blood streaming from Fise’s leg. He said ‘Brandon I’ve been stabbed’.

“Mr Cairns called 999 for an ambulance. We will play you the 999 call, which is distressing. Fise can be heard in the background, himself obviously in distress.”

Police and paramedics arrived but neither they, nor A&E doctors at South Tyneside District Hospital, could save Mr Abdou's life.

Mr Fitzgibbon said a pathologist found he had suffered 10 stab wounds.

Jurors were also played camera footage which picked up some audio between two of the defendants as they walked past a camera. The audio is muffled but prosecutors claim what was being said was: “Can they prove it” then “They can if Brandon grasses” then “Brandon wouldn’t dare”.

Summarising the Crown's case, Mr Fitzgibbon said: “The prosecution say the defendants acted together to kill Fise. It’s our case that Riches and Mitchell inflicted the fatal stab injuries while Raine helped by keeping Mr Cairns out of the way.

“We say all of them intended either to kill Fise or at the very least to cause him really serious physical injury. Raine may not have stabbed him but we say he was in on it and gave intentional assistance to the other two and we say that makes it murder by all of them.”

Mitchell, 25, of no fixed address, Riches, 24, of Wycliffe Avenue, Kenton, Newcastle and Raine, 35, of Grace House, Percy Main, North Shields all deny murder. The trial continues.