Woman and two men jailed for murder of man killed with machetes after being lured to Sheffield park

A woman and her two teenage accomplices have been jailed for a combined 48 years for the murder of a man who was lured to a park, ambushed and hacked to death with machetes.

Barney Griffin, 18, and Jack Douglas, 17, killed Sacad Ali in the early hours of 9 March after he was lured to Ponderosa Park by 25-year-old Rebecca Moore.

Mr Ali was playing video games and relaxing at a friend’s flat in the Netherthorpe area of the city when he received a call from Moore, who appeared as an unknown number, just after 4am.

She convinced Mr Ali to leave the flat and meet her in the park.

However, this proved to be a ruse, with Griffin and Douglas then appearing from the darkness to ambush him.

He begged for the pair to stop their relentless and brutal assault before his attackers fled the scene, leaving him with fatal injuries.

He was pronounced dead in the park just after 5am, with a murder investigation launched to find his killers.

Following a 16-day trial, Moore was found guilty of murder earlier this month. Griffin and Douglas had already pleaded guilty to Mr Ali’s murder and possession of a bladed article.

On Thursday, Griffin, who was 17 at the time of the murder, was sentenced to 16 years’ detention, while Douglas, who was 16 at the time, was sentenced to 15 years’ detention.

Moore was sentenced to life imprisonment with, a minimum term of 15 years.

Detective chief inspector Ben Wood, from South Yorkshire Police, said: “The two teenagers murdered Sacad in a barbaric way, with Moore also murdering him by duping him into meeting and luring him to the spot where he would be brutally attacked.

“Rather than admit her guilt, Moore then made Sacad’s loved ones relive the events of the day he died by making them endure a trial in court, after which she was found guilty of murder.

“A lot of exemplary detective and policing work went into this murder investigation and today’s result is testament to everyone’s hard work on this tragic case.”

Following today’s sentencing, Mr Ali’s family paid tribute to him in a statement released through South Yorkshire Police.

“Sacad was a loving son and brother who was loved by all his family. He was the heart of our family and was always happy and smiling,” the family said.

“All those who knew Sacad, knew how positive and happy he was. It feels like all the light out of our lives has been taken.

“Our lives have been completely broken by what has happened, and we will never be able to forget. We would like to thank everyone who helped Sacad and who came forward to assist the police.”