Kai Davis died in hospital just two hours after he was attacked in front of his friend
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A young man was brutally stabbed in the heart outside a nightclub before collapsing in the foyer of a Premier Inn, a court has heard. Kai Davis, 22, suffered fatal injuries after he was attacked with a knife during the early hours of August 21, 2021, in Kingston town centre.
Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he was pronounced dead just two hours later at a South London hospital. Three men, Ben Myles, 24, Joseph Barker, 23, and Conrad Adams, 20, were arrested and have each denied his murder and appeared at Kingston Crown Court today (Wednesday, September 21) as the trial began.
Philip Evans KC, prosecuting, told the court: “It was Sunday, August 21 2021, at around 3:40am when a young man named Kai Davis was stabbed once in the chest in Clarence Street in the centre of Kingston. At the time he was stabbed, he had been approached by a group – a group that had included these three defendants."
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He added: "The first two defendants, Ben Myles and Joseph Barker, actually went up to Mr Davis. The other defendant, Conrad Adams, had been with the other two immediately before they had approached the deceased.”
The court heard that it was Myles who knifed Kai in the chest, before he was later chased down the road by Barker, who eventually turned back. “Now stabbed in the chest, Kai Davis continued along Clarence Street and into a road called Wheatfield Way where he came to the door of the Premier Inn in Kingston,” Mr Evans continued.
“He collapsed in the foyer of the hotel before he then got to his feet, got back outside of the hotel, moved a few steps and collapsed again. Emergency services were quickly on the scene and did their best to treat him. He was taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting but despite their efforts to save him, life was pronounced extinct at 5.54am. He was aged just 22 years at the time of his death.”
Jurors heard that earlier that evening, Kai had been out in Epsom with his friend Brandon Baxter, before the two travelled to Kingston and went to a shop to buy a soft drink. They then stood outside the Wilko store and chatted to some old acquaintances from school, who had been out in Kingston that evening.
The two were also joined by Kai's girlfriend and Brandon’s sister, Olivia Baxter, who saw Kai speaking to someone he recognised, who had been out that evening with the defendant Conrad Adams. Just moments later, they were approached by two men, and Kai suffered his fatal injury.
Mr Evans said: “Brandon saw the two men walk straight up to Kai. The male wearing a black hooded top said ‘KD’ and Kai laughed and said “Yeah”. According to Brandon Baxter, the man in the black hooded top appeared to pole Kai in the left side, just above the hip. He then saw Kai Davis jump back and run off, without saying anything at all.”
His friend was unsure where Kai had gone and attempted to call his telephone a number of times, before he discovered him surrounded by concerned members of the public outside the Premier Inn. “Kai Davis opened his eyes and spoke to Brandon Baxter, asking him to call Olivia and then saying he was dying,” Mr Evans continued. “Kai appeared to be struggling for breath.” His partner Olivia attended the scene and then travelled to St George’s Hospital after he was rushed there by the London Ambulance Service.
Jurors heard that the three defendants were arrested following an extensive investigation by the Metropolitan Police which had included descriptions from Baxter and CCTV footage. Prior to the fatal stabbing, each of them had spent the night in Pryzm nightclub and had not come into contact with Kai until the encounter on the street.
While neither of them had a knife in their possession at the nightclub, the prosecutor argued that it had been collected shortly before the attack. “You will want to keep in mind the movements of the defendants Myles and Barker prior to entering the nightclub in moving along Wheatfield Way.
“When the defendants emerged from the nightclub later that night, they returned to that location shortly before the encounter with Kai Davis. The Prosecution submit that, had anything been left in that location, there was an opportunity for it to be collected.”
CCTV failed to capture the attack, but the three defendants were seen coming together by the art installation, and both Myles and Barker were seen pulling the hoods of their jumpers over their heads. “The prosecution case is that the fatal confrontation with Kai Davis took place outside Wilko within moments of the defendants going off camera,” jurors were told. "The attack lasted for a very short period. Six seconds after the group go out of view, Kai was seen running off south along Clarence Street into Wheatfield Way.”
After the incident, Myles was caught on CCTV leaning down towards a drain cover on Dolphin Street, before travelling on to Fairfield bus station. Police officers recovered a knife from the drain, while a second knife, believed to have been owned by Barker, was also recovered on a roadside.
While it is not disputed that Myles inflicted the fatal injury, he has denied murder and has alleged that he acted in self-defence. Mr Evans continued: “The Prosecution case is that, although it was Ben Myles who inflicted the fatal wound, these three men were acting together at the material time.
“Both Joseph Barker and Conrad Adams, through their presence with Myles before and during the fatal confrontation, encouraged him in his actions and – at the very least – they intended that Myles would cause Kai Davis very serious harm. Therefore, whilst they did not inflict the injury themselves, they share the responsibility for the actions which caused his death.”
Myles, of Southall, Barker, of Uxbridge and Adams, of Fulham, have each denied one count of murder. The trial continues.
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