Netley murder trial begins - recap of day one

The trial has concluded for today and will resume at 10.30am tomorrow.

'He disappeared'

Jennifer Goodhand was one of the women who helped TC.

Her interview with police is being shown to the court.

"Two of my friends were picking up myself and Wendy Hislop as we were going to dinner in Hamble.

"We went through the cut - an alleyway that runs through to Station Road - where our friends were going to meet us in the car.

"It was pouring in rain but we could see a man standing by the recreation ground gates, and there was somebody lying on the ground by him.

"He called to us as we appeared 'get an ambulance' but as we approached he disappeared. 

"I first saw the man standing up; he looked agitated. He looked concerned."

Their two friends arrived shortly after and Jennifer said she saw a "big long knife lying beside him and we were all quite alarmed by that."

"I tried to feel for a pulse and see if he was breathing. I was reassuring him that help was coming and not to worry.

"I pushed him over into the recovery position and the others called the ambulance."

Ms Jones tells the jury DA previously claimed self-defence in a prepared statement provided to police after he was charged with murder last year.

But "the force must be proportionate", she said, adding that in this case, it was not.

"DA pushed a knife 15cm into TC's stomach, through his liver and to his spine.

"He ended TC's life...and the defendant was without a mark himself.

"We say that the injury is obvious of his intent to kill or seriously injure." 

The jury is now being shown a map of the area where the incident happened.

We have also seen images of TC's clothing he wore on the day, where large cuts can be seen in the middle of the t-shirt. 

"It is in the middle of the top which shows the damage created by the knife", Ms Jones said.

A recreation of TC's torso is now shown to the court so the jury can see where he was stabbed.

Ms Jones continues: "Adeyemi (DA) had not stayed to help the dying man he had just stabbed and he did not call 999.

"A woman was driving and saw a black male appear on the corner of Mortimers Close and Holmes Close.

"As she drove towards Holmes Close, the male stopped and stared at her which spooked her. It was a wide-eyed hostile stare."

The court heard DA tried to call Hibberd (JH) three times upon returning to his home in Holmes Close, Netley, before organising an Uber to take him to Lordshill.

"He got himself out of an area where a murder investigation was happening as fast as he could", Ms Jones said.

The court has just been told DA began searching the Daily Echo website for "crime" news that very night, and he "renewed the searches the following day while he laid low."

The scene in Netley last year (Image: Newsquest)

Knife stabbed 15cm into his body 

A post-mortem was carried out on Tawana Choruma (TC) the following day.

Dr Megan Jenkins, the pathologist, found that TC died "because of a catastrophic haemorrhage due to a wound to his abdomen.

"It was 3cm in length [the cut on his abdomen]...and penetrated the liver and the first part of the small intestine. This caused a large amount of bleeding into the stomach."

Ms Jones added that the stab wound went 15cm deep, from the surface of the skin and into TC's abdomen. 

The group of friends took turns giving TC CPR until emergency services - including paramedics and an air ambulance - arrived at the scene.

Despite the best efforts of all those involved, TC was pronounced dead at the scene, Ms Jones tells the jury.

'He needs help'

Ms Jones tells the court two female friends were passing the shadowed area by the recreation ground and saw a "tall, black man" emerge.

The prosecution say this man was DA. 

"He was trying to pull a man lying in a foetal position on the ground up.

"The male told the women 'he needs help, get an ambulance' before he ran off into the recreation ground.

"One of the women, who used to be a nurse, tended to TC.

"He appeared to go into a fit and 6.24pm a call to 999 was logged.

"That is less than three minutes from TC calling his friend.

"She noted TC had agonal breathing which happens at the end stages of life when the body can't get the oxygen it needs."

On December 18, the three were due to meet in the Netley area to resolve the debts.

Jack Hibberd's (JH) phone travels south and "appears to remain in that area until 6.25pm, and certainly he separates from the other two", Ms Jones said.

"The victim Tawana Choruma (TC) and defendant Dominic Adeyemi (DA) are seen later blurrily on CCTV walking purposefully towards Mortimer Close, pausing, then going in the other direction back to the recreation ground.

"At 6.21pm the victim calls a friend who is out celebrating his birthday.

"Three minutes later he was fatally stabbed by DA who left him to die by himself while he himself fled."

Opening the case

Prosecutor Sarah Jones KC is opening the case to a packed court room.

She tells the jury of the events that unfolded on December 18, 2024 in Netley.

The incident involved three men - Dominic Adeyemi, Tawana Choruma and Jack Hibberd.

She tells the court Hibberd owed a significant debt of hundreds of pounds to Adeyemi for drugs, and he worked with Choruma to try and avoid payment. 

"The defendant's frustration can be received through the messages to Mr Hibberd", she tells the court, explaining how Adeyemi tried calling and messaging Hibberd several times in the days leading up to Dec 18.

Before the trial gets underway, here is a reminder of the facts of the incident.

Police were called just before 6.30pm on December 18, 2024, to reports that a man had been stabbed near Netley station.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services and members of the public, Tawana Choruma was pronounced dead at the scene.

Good afternoon.

We will be bringing you live updates from the trial of Dominic Adeyemi.