Raymond Quigley murder trial: Accused carried machete 'for safety'

A teenager accused of murder said he was carrying a machete for safety after previously being kidnapped by a gang.

Joshua Howell, 18, and Alfie Hammett, 19, both deny murdering Raymond James Quigley in Ipswich.

Mr Quigley, 18, from Wymondham, Norfolk, was killed in the centre of the Suffolk town on 17 January 2023.

He ran into a card shop to seek help but died from the stab wounds he suffered to his torso, back and chest on Westgate Street at about 15:30 GMT.

The prosecution alleged that Mr Hammett delivered the fatal blows while Mr Howell held off Mr Quigley's friends with a machete.

Mr Howell's defence opened at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday.

Under questioning by Chris Henley, defending, Mr Howell said he had once been kidnapped in a "case of mistaken identity" in Stratford, east London, but was released after an hour.

He told the court that, a month before Mr Quigley's death, he had started selling cannabis in Ipswich and armed himself when strangers contacted him to meet up.

He said: "As you've heard, I had incidents in the past and I kept the knife on me to make me feel safer - especially if I didn't know who I was meeting."

When he arrived in the town centre, two men, friends of Mr Quigley, were walking towards him and he feared one would run at him, Mr Howell said.

The defendant claimed he pulled the machete from his trousers to "scare" the men but had no intention of stabbing them.

He told jurors he did not know where Mr Quigley or Mr Hammett were at the time and focused on protecting himself.

Mr Howell also denied being a member of an Ipswich gang but said he was friends with people associated with the so-called Nacton, or IP3 gang.

The jury in the trial heard both defendants and the victim were all associated with gangs based in Suffolk and Norfolk.

The prosecution spoke of a complex web of "affiliates" and "oppositions". It said Mr Quigley was associated with a Norfolk-based gang, known as Only The Money.

The fatal stabbing of Mr Quigley followed the murder of Joe Dix in Norfolk in January 2022.

Three men convicted of his murder, the prosecution in the case said, were members of the Only The Money gang.

The trial continues.

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830.