A brother and sister are accused of repeatedly stabbing a man in a “frankly brutal” attack in an argument as they waited to buy cannabis, a court heard.
Bank worker Mya Marsh was caught on film as she allegedly passed a knife to her brother Isaiah Marsh during an attack on Minister Enfrence, who suffered more than 20 wounds to his body, arms, hands and head and died of his injuries nearby. Birmingham Crown Court was told Mr Enfrence, aged 21, may have been attacked during an argument because Mya was kept waiting to buy cannabis or over a damaged bicycle.
Footage played to jurors on Wednesday showed Mr Enfrence being repeatedly stabbed near a car in the Medway Grove area of Kings Norton, Birmingham, shortly before 10am on Tuesday November 5 last year.
Isaiah Marsh, 21, and his sister, aged 23, both of Teviot Grove, Kings Norton, each deny murder and an alternative count of manslaughter. Isaiah further denies possession of a knife.
Opening the case against the pair on behalf of the Crown, prosecutor Jennifer Josephs KC said of the defendants: “They are brother and sister – both face allegations of murder.
“A man called Minister Enfrence was stabbed in the street – he was stabbed repeatedly. He received over 20 stab wounds all over his body and head, and tragically he died of his injuries shortly after. We, the prosecution, say that this was an attack carried out by siblings – the defendants.”
Jurors heard the stabbing took place just around the corner from the joint home of the defendants, who both knew Mr Enfrence as an “associate” and had had previous phone contact with him.
Before talking jurors through a series of film clips, Ms Josephs said: “It is apparent that the two defendants knew Minister and knew him before the incident took place. There is no dispute as to who was there. Much of the CCTV comes from nearby houses.”
Mya had chosen to arm herself with a kitchen knife, which she held in the street and could be seen brandishing while shouting, Ms Josephs said, while Mr Enfrence could be seen empty-handed. There was also no dispute that there came a time when Isaiah arrived at the scene, the court heard.
As well as alleging that the male defendant “grabbed” Mr Enfrence before he carried out a “frankly brutal” stabbing, Ms Josephs said of the female defendant: “She joins in, we say. She is on top of them and hands her brother, we say, a knife. This was, we say, an unprovoked, senseless and violent attack by the pair of them.
“As far as the prosecution are concerned, it might have been an argument about Mya being kept waiting by Minister. It seems Mya wanted to buy cannabis. It might have been an argument about a damaged bicycle.”
After the killing, Ms Josephs said, Mya went to her workplace “as if nothing had happened” and slept at a different address in the evening, while Isaiah told police he had lost his phone when he handed himself in.
Prior to the prosecution’s opening speech, Judge Simon Drew KC told the jury panel: “During the course of the police investigation lots of CCTV footage revealed the movements of those involved in this case. Many of the injuries that were inflicted on him (Minister) are captured on CCTV footage.
“You are going to have to watch that footage and you are going to have to watch that footage a number of times. It’s quite shocking to see it take place. That can be quite distressing to watch and that’s why I am giving you a warning now.” The trial continues.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
