A pair sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a dad of three will seek to overturn their convictions.
Brookton Lagan and Taison Cyrille, then both 19, were found guilty last December of fatally stabbing Darren MacCormick in Didcot on January 9, 2020.
The two men, who tried to flee to Amsterdam in the wake of the killing, were given a life sentence and told they would each serve at least 19 years behind bars before they were eligible for release.
Later this morning, lawyers for both men will ask the Court of Appeal for permission – or leave – to appeal their convictions.
Last year, jurors at Oxford Crown Court heard Mr MacCormick – known by the nickname ‘Dizzy’ – was stabbed during an argument over a drugs debt between his friend and Laggan.
He received a number of injuries to his arms and his right hand, as well as ‘defensive injuries.’
The fatal injury was a stab wound to the chest, which was described as 10cm deep and which caused damage to his heart. He was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford but at 4.56am he was declared dead.
Darren MacCormick.
Another man injured in the brawl was stabbed in the head and a third man was stabbed in the leg.
The violence happened ‘very quickly’. Afterwards, the killers were said to have driven off after discarding knives – three of which the police later seized.
The pair tried to flee to Amsterdam but were caught by police at Luton Airport on January 11.
Sentencing Lagan and Cyrille, both from Bicester, Judge Ian Pringle QC hit out at the ‘scourge’ of knife crime that had plagued the country over the last 20 years.
He said that the ‘national epidemic’ of carrying knives had led to a ‘desperate and unceasing waste of human life’.
Mendip Heights, Didcot. Crime scene for killing of Darren Maccormick
Following the sentencing hearing, Det Ch Insp Stuart Blaik of Thames Valley Police said: “No conviction or sentence that was passed down in court can ultimately heal the pain of losing a loved one in such needless circumstances.
“But I do hope that now the case has concluded it can provide the family with some consolation that proceedings are now over and they can begin to slowly move on.”
He added: “This case has demonstrated the tragic consequences that can arise from carrying knives. Serious violence and knife crime causes pain and misery, and the Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit is dedicated in its mission to tackle it via prevention, intervention and enforcement.”
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