Man, 34, ‘stabbed Ian Wright’s boxing trainer pal to death after shouting “I will ju jitsu the f*** out of you” in club’
A MAN ‘stabbed Ian Wright’s boxing trainer pal to death after shouting “I will jujistu the f*** out of you” at a nightclub’, a court heard.
Ross Hamilton, 34, allegedly stabbed Reece Newcombe, 31, in the neck with a shard of broken glass outside Viva nightclub in Richmond on 26 November 2022.
A court heard how the defendant boasted his karate moves on the dance floor and goaded Mr Newcombe, a new dad, just moments before his death.
Hamilton denies murder, assault by beating and possession of an offensive weapon.
Both men had watched England play the USA in the Qatar World Cup earlier that evening.
The jury heard how footie fan Hamilton had elbowed a man in the face and knocked him to the floor in the fan zone in Richmond Park.
Witnesses later reported him showing off karate kicks on the dance floor at Viva and shouting he would “ju jitsu the f**k” out of fellow clubgoers.
Meanwhile, dad-of-one Mr Newcombe had been spending the evening with friends to watch the football, before gong to an official after party at the nightclub.
He helped train former England star Ian Wright, 59, and other celebrities for a charity boxing match in 2014.
He also trained actor Jack O’Connell, who starred in the drama SAS: Rogue Heroes.
Prosecutor Louis Malby, KC, told the Old Bailey: “The evidence shows the bald man [Hamilton] had been causing trouble throughout the night in various different ways in various locations including inside the nightclub.
“He had gone from the fan zone to the nightclub and as he walked from the fan zone he was increasingly aggressive accosting members of the public and women, standing in front of lorries and throwing beer over a passing car.
“Throughout the evening he was involved in a number of low level altercations with other individuals inside goading people and behaving erratically, doing karate kicks on the dance floor, harassing people- sometimes putting his arm round people sometimes being aggressive.
“Then at the end of night when the nightclub closed and everyone spilled onto the street, instead of going home he was hanging around outside behaving in an aggressive and erratic manner.
“At 3.20am he walked up to another man much smaller than himself, engaged him in conversation and then without any warning at all elbowed him in the face as hard as could causing the man to fall to floor.
“Having elbowed the man to the floor he began dancing around in the street, confronting security staff and screaming at people ‘I will ju jitsu the f**k out of you.'”
The prosecutor told the court Hamilton had been “looking for people to fight”.
“He continued to hang around outside the nightclub and goad people to have a fight with him,” he added.
The court was also told how just before 4am, Mr Newcombe made the “tragic” decision to “confront” Hamilton after being goaded.
“What happened was exactly what the bald man was hoping to happen – he got the fight that he asked for,” continued the prosecutor.
Mr Malby added how Hamilton “armed himself with a piece of broken glass” and concealed it in his pocket.
This was also allegedly seen by a witness at the scene.
He told the court: “And when the time did come he took the glass out of his pocket and in the fight with Reece stabbed him in the neck causing a fatal wound.
“He immediately began to appear seriously wounded, he grabbed his neck and grabbed and friends rushed in and it became a general melay in the side street.”
Hamilton was pushed away and drove off to flee the scene, the jurors were told.
Two police officers attended and found a large crowd of people outside the Nando’s near Richmond Bridge.
Mr Malby said: “At the bottom of the stairs they saw that a man was lying on the ground and was covered in blood and members of the public were around him kneeling down trying to give first aid.
“It was clear he had a serious wound to the right side of the neck.”
Paramedics rushed the victim to hospital where he had emergency surgery but he was sadly pronounced dead at 10.15am.
Hamilton turned himself into a police station a few days later and claimed self-defence.
Hamilton, of Wood Lane, Isleworth, west London, denies murder, assault and possession of an offensive weapon.
The trial continues on Tuesday and is set to last three weeks.