‘Everyone knew my co-defendant is the killer’

A musician accused of killing a man at a video shoot with snakes and reptiles told a court ‘everyone knew’ his co-defendant carried out the stabbing.

Stephen Morrisson, 30, was shirtless, talking loudly and banging his head against a tree while cameras rolled on performers with live reptiles in Epping Forest in Essex.

Yonas Girma, 29, a rapper turned Instagram wildlife influencer known as ‘Ty From The Wyld’, allegedly punched Mr Morrisson before Ellis Heather, 26, stabbed him in the chest, the Old Bailey heard.

Mr Morrisson, a content creator and the brother of rapper Morrisson, had arrived in a stolen black Vauxhall Corsa at the Wake Valley pond car park, where he tried to get involved in the music video and asked the group if they knew who he was.

After being told off for speaking to one of the group’s girlfriends he drove his car towards the group of men and they attacked him, it is claimed.

Rappers Girma, known as ‘Yosh’ or ‘Ty’ and Heather, known as ‘Rackz’ both deny murder on 23 June 2020.

Giving evidence at the Old Bailey Girma, wearing a striped blue shirt, admitted being part of the group at the time of the stabbing but said Heather was responsible.

Defending Heather, Ian Henderson KC said: ‘What I suggest to you is that your own account makes it clear that you were in the group at the point that Mr Morrisson was stabbed.’

Girma replied: ‘I have always said I was within the group, but no one said I stabbed anyone.’

He also denied blaming Heather for the murder and setting him up as the ‘fall guy’.

Girma earlier said Ellis had told him that Mr Morrisson was ‘moving a bit too mad’ and admitted he had stabbed him.

Giving evidence today he said: ‘Everyone already knew that Ellis had stabbed [Morrisson], he didn’t just say it to me.

‘Everyone was just shocked and saying what’s going to happen and stuff.’

Mr Henderson said this claim is ‘challenged’ and suggested the language Heather is said to have used, including ‘moving mad’ and ‘moving erratic’, were actually Girma’s own words.

Heather was said to have ‘bolted’ into the backseat of him and his girlfriend’s car following the stabbing.

But Mr Henderson said: ‘You are suggesting that Mr Heather was involved, the implication is he was last in the car because he was involved.

‘You are just adding these matters in to make Mr Heather’s position worse.’

Girma said: ‘I’m not trying to make his position worse, I am just saying what I remember.’

Girma struggled to recall details of where he was in the car park in the run-up to the stabbing.

He insisted he had pulled the videographer aside to apologise to him and reschedule the shoot because Mr Morrisson was ‘doing doughnuts’ and they couldn’t hear each other.

He said: ‘I walked to where Danny walked to, I can’t remember the precise position.’

Mr Henderson said: ‘You want to suggest you were a significant distance away from what was happening.

‘Danny left, we saw in the image, and he never returned. But you didn’t leave, did you?’

Girma said: ‘I am not acting like I am far off from anyone, everyone was within the same sort of distance with each other.’

He said he not remember if he was facing the group or precisely how far away he was.

Girma, of Hanworth, west London, and Heather, of Taplow, Buckinghamshire, deny murder.