Daniel Frederick murder trial: Killing was planned as revenge for gang prison attack, court hears
Daniel Frederick. Picture: Louise Samuels - Credit: Louise Samuels
Five teenagers killed Daniel Frederick in a revenge attack after a friend was beaten up in prison, the Old Bailey heard today.
Daniel, a father-of-three, was killed yards from his home in Shakspeare Walk, Stoke Newington, in January.
Only one of the suspects charged with his murder, Kacper Karasinski, 18, of Mount Pleasant Lane, Upper Clapton, can be named.
Reporting restrictions are in place to protect the identities of a 16-year-old – Mr A – who has already pleaded guilty, and another 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds who are also accused.
Debate in court concerned whether one of the defendants knew why the group was running away from the scene.
Defendant 2, told the court he did not know why he started running and only did so because the others ran.
Cross-examining, Dexter Dias, representing another defendant, accused him of having changed his story since he submitted his defence statement to the court. He said the defendants had all been aware of why they were going to Shakspeare Walk and why they would have to run away.
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He argued: “You all ran because you all knew what this was about right at the beginning, when you were at Mr A’s home he had received a message that had made him very angry.
“One of his friends had been beaten up in prison and he was told it was some of the Shakspeare Boys that did it.”
“There was no need to talk about it because this was something that had been agreed in advance.”
However, defendant two said Mr A carried out a drug deal in Shakspeare Walk shortly at the time of the incident.
He said: “We went to Shakspeare Walk. We waited. [Mr A] did what he had to do and then we left. I didn’t see what happened.”
Mr Dias called this account “a fantasy”.
On the stand Defendant 2 repeatedly denied having ran from the scene, and claimed he wasn’t outside Burns House, where Daniel was attacked with the rest of the group.
He said he “couldn’t see what they were doing” despite Mr Dias pointing out that his defence statement states he saw “kicking and punching”. Mr Dias also alleged that Defendant 2 would not have been able to see this from where he said he was standing.
The trial continues.
