Guilty verdicts reached in Cody Fisher murder trial after stabbing at Digbeth nightclub in Birmingham

Two men have been found guilty of the murder of Cody Fisher, who was stabbed to death on the dancefloor of a Birmingham nightclub on Boxing Day, 2022.

The semi-professional footballer had been on a night out with friends when he was attacked following an ‘insignificant’ encounter with one of the killers two nights earlier.

The court heard how Cody, aged 23, had accidentally bumped into Remy Gordon at Popworld in Solihull and the pair exchanged a few words. But Gordon refused to forget the encounter, and set about trying to identify Cody from social media images he found of him on other nights out.

He learned Cody’s name, and that he was likely to be at the Crane nightclub on Adderley Street in Digbeth on Boxing Day Inside the Crane, just before midnight on Boxing Day, Cody was surrounded before being headbutted, punched and kicked. He was stabbed once in the chest and died from the wound at the scene.

A major investigation was launched, with officers spending hundreds of hours reviewing CCTV footage from the Crane, as well as examining social media messaging. It identified Gordon, as well as Kami Carpenter and Reegan Anderson as being present on the night.

Today (Monday, March 25) after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court lasting two months, Gordon, of Cofton Park Drive, Rednal, and Carpenter, of Owens Croft, Kings Norton were convicted of murder. Gordon was also found guilty of affray. Anderson, of Brookvale Park Road, Erdington, was cleared of murder, but found guilty of affray. They will be sentenced at a later date.

‘Tragedy of trivial motive’

Det Insp Michelle Thurgood, who led the investigation at West Midlands Police, said: “The absolute tragedy of this case is just how trivial the motive was. It’s the kind of thing that most right-minded people would have just ignored and moved on, but Remy Gordon, for reasons only he can explain, took real exception to this.

“It was a chance brushing together of two men who did not know each other and had no reason to fall out. Cody’s life has been cut tragically short, and it’s had a catastrophic impact on his family and friends.”

‘Best friend and angel’

Cody’s mother Tracey described her son as her ‘youngest boy, best friend and her angel’, and said she and her family started ‘our life sentences’ on Boxing Day 2022 – the saddest, most heart-breaking day of our lives.”

She said: “Cody’s father, brother and the rest of his living family who miss him dearly are suffering. Cody truly never had a bad bone in his body. He loved teaching young children. He loved, cared for and respected his family. 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 footie 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.  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.”

West Midlands Police pledge on knife crime

Everyone has got a role to play in tackling knife crime. We will continue to make arrests and work to make the West Midlands safer, but it’s just as important that parents, carers and teachers speak to young people about the devastating impact of knife crime.

We know that can be a difficult conversation to have, we we’ve got a dedicated website to make the conversation easier. Visit Life or Knife to find out more: https://lifeorknife.west-midlands.police.uk/