Two men will go on trial in July for the murder of the 23-year-old footballer Cody Fisher, who was stabbed on the dancefloor of a Birmingham nightclub on Boxing Day.
Kami Carpenter, 21, and Remy Gordon, 22, appeared at Birmingham crown court on Wednesday, where Judge Farrer KC ordered a trial to start on 3 July.
The two defendants spoke only to confirm their names and a plea while a trial preparation hearing was fixed for 17 March before the pair were remanded in custody. Carpenter has no fixed address, and Gordon, of Coughton Park Drive, Birmingham, has pleaded no contest to murder.
Two suspects charged in the Boxing Day killing of footballer Cody Fisher have appeared in court.
Kami Carpenter, 21, and Remy Gordon, 22, were charged on Saturday with murdering Fisher, who was stabbed on the dancefloor at Crane nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham.
The defendants, who spoke only to confirm their details during a four-minute hearing at the city’s Crown Court on Monday, entered not-guilty pleas to the charges linked to the offence.
The case, heard by two magistrates, was one of several magistrates’ court cases transferred to the nearby crown court due to lower courts being closed.
Carpenter is of no fixed address, and Gordon, of Birmingham, was asked not to enter a plea to murder.
Both defendants were ordered to reappear before a crown court judge on Wednesday. A further hearing was set for 30 January.
Regan Anderson, 18, appeared on Friday before a district judge at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court from Erdington, in the city.
Anderson, arrested by West Midlands Police on Thursday, told the court he was of no fixed address.
Friends and family gathered at St Peter’s Church in Coughton, near the Warwickshire town of Alcester, to remember the Stratford Town FC player, who had also played for Bromsgrove Sporting.
Mr Fisher’s girlfriend, Jess Chatwin, told the congregation he had “changed her life forever” when she met him in August 2019.
“Cody was brave, caring, and always had the best advice. He was always my go-to and taught me so much about the world and myself,” she said.
Mr Fisher’s mother, Tracey Fisher, described how close she and her son were.
Representations on behalf of the club were held privately, but before the council’s decision, a spokesperson had said revoking the licence would be “wholly inappropriate”.
Three men have been charged with murdering 23-year-old Mr Fisher, a sports coach from Redditch, Worcestershire, who played for non-league Stratford Town.
In a public portion of Tuesday’s hearing, Gary Grant, representing the West Midlands force, urged councillors to pull the licence, saying the venue posed a “grave risk” to public safety and crime and disorder.
He told the committee that door searches were “inconsistent or haphazard” and, citing bags of white powder, added there was “blatant and widespread” use of drugs.
The meeting heard that video footage from the night in question showed a person inhaling from a balloon believed to contain nitrous oxide, regardless of a police presence that emerged following the stabbing.
Cody’s heartbroken girlfriend Jess Chatwin previously wrote online: ‘My poor baby. I am so sorry that this happened to you.
The love of my life, my whole world, and my best friend, was taken away. I don’t know how I will do life without you, Code.
‘There is so much we will never get to do now. This doesn’t feel real. I love you forever, Cody Fisher.’
Potentially life-saving bleed kits are being installed at the venue, and the club’s license was revoked after Mr Fisher’s death, along with several other clubs in the city.
The equipment has been provided by the Daniel Baird Foundation, a charity founded in 2017 by a mother in Birmingham whose son was murdered.
Daniel Baird was also stabbed to death in Digbeth, as was Mr Fisher.
His mother, Lynn Baird, who campaigned to make the kits accessible, was an MBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours.
An autopsy confirmed that Fisher died of stab wounds, and officers recovered a knife from the scene.
A full licence review hearing to determine the venue’s future must be held within 28 days.
