Teenager guilty of Christmas Day murder

Reece Connor

A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a man who was stabbed to death on Christmas Day.

Reece Connor, aged 29, was fatally wounded on a pavement near Nottingham’s Crown Island after a brief altercation with Kershan Dockeray-Barnett, then aged just 17.

The teenager had admitted to delivering a single stab wound to the chest, but claimed have been acting in self-defence using the victim’s own knife.

During a three-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court, the jury heard how he confronted the victim after an altercation in a nearby underpass at about 7.35pm on 25 December 2023.

Exact details of this initial incident remain unknown – but it was undoubtedly the trigger for the fatal violence that followed.

Distant CCTV footage showed both this initial meeting and Dockeray-Barnett running towards Reece as he walked along Wollaton Road.

Within just six minutes of leaving the underpass, Reece was left dying on the pavement.

Manhunt

A team of detectives quickly assembled on Christmas Day and worked through the night to identify suspects and gather other crucial evidence.

Using CCTV recordings, doorbell camera footage and mobile phone data, they were able to track the movements of Reece and his killer in the moments before, during and after the incident.

With detectives closing in, Dockeray-Barnett, now 18, handed himself in but declined to answer any of the questions put to him by officers in interview. 

He later claimed to have acted in self-defence using a knife dropped by the victim – before throwing it away in a location he’d forgotten.

Despite extensive searches the blade was never recovered.

Prosecutors argued that Dockeray-Barnett had gone looking for Reece with the intention of causing him serious harm.

The jury agreed and delivered their majority verdict today (Monday).

A second man, 24-year-old Keaton Morgan Adlam, was cleared of murder on Friday. He was also found not guilty of an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Dockeray-Barnett, of Marchwood Close, Nottingham, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Friday 6 September.

Detective Inspector Clare Gibson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“Christmas Day will never be the same again for any of Reece’s family and friends.  This senseless act of violence has resulted in the death of a much-loved father, partner, son and friend.  

“Following the attack on Reece, Dockeray-Barnett made no attempt to administer first aid or to call for an ambulance, and was concerned only with getting away from the scene and disposing of vital evidence.

“I am pleased the jury has reached this verdict and hope that this outcome assists Reece’s family in coming to terms with their terrible loss.”