'He told me he'd been stabbed and gestured to his heart': Man tells murder trial of his brother's final moments
29.02.2024 - 06:27
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The brother of a man at the centre of a murder trial has told a jury of his final moments. Youssef Alsharan, the younger brother of Ahmed Alsharan, 33, told police he 'held' his sibling as he struggled to breathe having being stabbed in the chest, a court was told.
Mr Alsharan received open heart surgery at the scene on Dale Street and was rushed to hospital, but died after suffering from severe brain damage, jurors have been told. A pathologist found he suffered a stab wound to his heart, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
Jurors previously heard he had been drinking coffee with his brother Youssef, friend Sami Alhaj and another pal beside Rochdale Canal off Dale Street when they were approached by another man, alleged to be Mohammed Al-Enizi Hameed.
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He asked 'who are you?', before a fight broke out, in which Mr Alsharan was stabbed and pushed in the canal, it was said. Mr Alhaj was also knife during the incident, jurors have been told. He was left with wounds to his abdomen, armpit and lung.
Mr Al-Enizi Hameed, 36; Fares Hassan, 22; Hussein Muhalhal, 20; and Hussein Mouhelhel, 22; and two 16-year-old boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are on trial at Minshull Street Crown Court. They all deny murder; attempted murder; and an alternate offence of wounding with intent.
On Wednesday (February 28), jurors were shown a police interview in which Youssef Alsharan said he had been for a solicitor appointment earlier that day with his brother and Mr Alhaj as he was new to the country.
He said the group of four went to get a coffee from Café Nero, on Piccadilly, before his brother suggested they go to the canal. Speaking through an interpreter, he