Court told man killed in mistaken belief he was a paedophile

A group of youths were seen hiding in a park moments before a man was killed in the mistaken belief he was a paedophile, a court in east England has heard.

Lorry driver Darren Kelly, (42), from Basildon, Essex was stabbed to death in nearby Pitsea on October 20th, 2015.

Four people are on trial at Chelmsford Crown Court after pleading not guilty to murder.

The court has heard that a gang of “teenage vigilantes” plotted to ambush and attack Mr Kelly because they believed he was trying to meet an under-age girl for sex.

Off-duty police community support officer Emma Spurr told the court she was walking home shortly after 9pm when she saw a group of youths hiding in the park. Some of them appeared to be concealing themselves behind trees and bushes. "It made me feel nervous and I wanted to get home as quickly as possible," she added.

Chris Carroll, (20), of Pitsea, along with two 17-year-old boys and a 16-year-old girl all deny murder. The teenagers cannot be named for legal reasons.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Crispin Aylett described how the girl, then aged 15, had launched a "personal campaign" against paedophiles.

She had previously arranged to meet two men she had found online in the hope they would be arrested. Asked why by police, she said: “Because they’re perverts and I don’t think perverts should be around and I don’t see anybody else doing anything about it.”

There was no suggestion Mr Kelly was a paedophile and he may have believed he was meeting an adult woman.

On the day of the killing, the girl arranged to meet Mr Kelly before recruiting a gang to attack him, Mr Aylett said. The other defendants and a 13-year-old girl are alleged to have gathered nearby.

When he arrived, the group started to punch and kick him and Carroll slashed the tyres on his car, Mr Aylett added.

Ms Spurr said she saw two males and a girl suddenly run towards a man in a duffel coat, later discovered to be Mr Kelly. They ran across the road, forcing a car to make an emergency stop.

“When they got to him one of the men made a motion as if to punch the man,” Ms Spurr said. “It connected and he seemed to crouch forward. The man in the duffel coat started to run down the road and the males and the female chased after him. I heard some shouting, but it was not clear what was said or by who.”

She lost sight of the group and did not see what happened next.

Mr Kelly managed to get help from local residents, but died in hospital after suffering six stab wounds.

The 13-year-old girl was originally arrested in connection with the death but released without charge, the court has heard.

The trial is expected to last four weeks.

– PA