Carl Dixon murder trial: Pair 'acted as tag team' in fatal attack on man, 35, in drugs dispute

A Barnsley man was ‘stabbed to death’ in a joint attack, during which two men acted as ‘a tag team’ in a dispute over 'less than a handful of tablets,' a jury has been told.

35-year-old Carl Dixon was pronounced dead a short time after the emergency services were called out to a property on George Street, Worsbrough, Barnsley, at 11.19pm on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. 

25-year-old Liam Shaw, of no fixed abode, and 26-year-old Daniel Cheetham, of Underwood Avenue, Worsbrough Dale, Barnsley, have gone on trial accused of Mr Dixon’s murder, a charge each defendant denies. 

Both defendants also deny an additional charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm allegedly carried out during the same incident and relating to injuries reportedly suffered by Catherine Watkinson, whose George Street home is said to have been the scene of the fatal stabbing.

'This was a joint attack by two men, those two men in the dock'

Opening the prosecution case to the jury of five men and seven women on Monday, March 11, Nicholas Campbell KC said: “It was one night last September, in the course of a prolonged assault, that Carl Dixon was stabbed to death. He was stabbed twice in his left arm, three times in his back and twice to the front of his chest. One of those chest wounds pierced his heart.”

“Although, it would appear that only one person actually wielded the knife, the prosecution case is that this was a joint attack by two men, those two men in the dock,” Mr Campbell said, referring to the two defendants. 

“Each defendant now accepts that he was present at the time that Carl Dixon was stabbed, but each blames the other for that stabbing. Mr Cheetham says that Mr Shaw did it, Mr Shaw says Mr Cheetham did it.”

“Firm, they assert that any other violence they may have inflicted was lawful, that is they will say they were acting in self defence or the protection of another.”

“The prosecution case is that they were in it together, that each is guilty of murder, and that each is guilty of assaulting another person who was there at the time,” Mr Campbell said, referring to Ms Watkinson. 

Describing Ms Watkinson’s injuries, Mr Campbell told the jury that not only did Ms Watkinson suffer ‘bruises and grazes’ in the ‘attack’ but she was also left with a ‘cut to her left forearm’. 

“This suggests the same knife used to kill Carl Dixon also caught her,” Mr Campbell said.

'The world of drugs' provides the background to the case, prosecutor claims

He told the jury that the background to the case is the ‘world of drugs’ and that ‘all of the adults who were present at the time of the murder were addicted to Class A drugs and they had been for some time’.

“They led chaotic lifestyles. The violence that led to Carl Dixon’s death seems to have arisen from an argument about drugs, over some tablets - less than a handful of them - and worth no more than a few pounds," Mr Campbell said. "This is hardly a motive for murder. The prosecution say this murder wasn’t planned, it happened during the course of an argument fuelled by drink and drugs. That argument suddenly escalated into violence, and that violence was to prove fatal."  

Mr Campbell told the court that Mr Dixon had worked as a ‘farmhand’ up until about 2019 when he suffered a fracture to his skull, resulting in brain damage. Following his injury, Mr Dixon’s ‘personality changed,’ he became more anti-social, and would sometimes say things that ‘simply did not make sense’, Mr Campbell said, adding that following the deaths of his mother and grandmother, Mr Dixon ‘came to rely more on drink and drugs’. 

The ‘drug of choice’ for Mr Dixon, Mr Shaw and Mr Cheetham was ‘crack cocaine,’ Mr Campbell told the jury. 

He described how in the hours leading up to the fatal stabbing, Mr Shaw and Mr Cheetham had been smoking crack cocaine with a third male at his home in the Worsbrough village. Drug tests carried out in the hours afterwards also determined that the two defendants had the Class B drug ketamine in their system, which Mr Campbell described as having ‘psychedelic and hallucinogenic effects’. 

CCTV cameras on George Street showed Ms Watkinson returning to her home at 10.25pm - around an hour before the stabbing - after being seen with Mr Shaw and Mr Cheetham a matter of minutes earlier. 

She was joined at her home by Mr Dixon and another male by the name of Darren Woodhouse, the court heard. 

Mr Campbell told the jury that Mr Woodhouse will tell them, during the course of the trial, that crack cocaine was hard to come by at night but Ms Watkinson was able to get hold of some; and he, along with Ms Watkinson and Mr Dixon proceeded to smoke crack in her living room shortly after arriving at her property. 

Mr Woodhouse observed that Ms Watkinson seemed extremely intoxicated. The court was also told that during a conversation they had just before 9pm that evening, Mr Dixon’s cousin had sought to ‘discourage’ him from leaving her home in order to ‘sort something out’ because he had been drinking and she was concerned he had consumed ‘too much’. 

Mr Campbell continued: “While the three of them were there in that living room, Mr Woodhouse saw Carl Dixon go into Catherine Watkinson’s handbag, which was left on a pouffe, and took a blister pack.”

“Mr Woodhouse did not see where Mr Dixon put the pack, but because of his previous conduct, he assumed he had put them in his sock…Mr Dixon put his finger over his mouth, as if to say Mr Woodhouse should keep quiet. You will hear he [Mr Dixon] was giggling, and as Mr Woodhouse put it: ‘He was acting like a schoolgirl’.”

Mr Campbell told the court that the blister pack of tablets Mr Dixon is alleged to have taken from Ms Watkinson’s bag contained ‘pregabalin,’ which is a prescription drug used to treat epilepsy and anxiety disorders. 

When used by itself, however, pregabalin - which is illegal when not prescribed and has a street value of between 50p and £2 - can cause feelings of euphoria, Mr Campbell said, adding that ‘there is a significant demand for pregabalin by those addicted to other drugs because it can enhance other drugs’.   

A short time later, Mr Cheetham and Mr Shaw arrived at the property, and things started ‘peacefully enough,’ with the pair sitting in the kitchen, Mr Campbell said, referring to the account of the fatal incident provided by Mr Woodhouse.  

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He continued: “Ms Watkinson returned to the living room. When she did that she started looking for her pregabalin, she took out the blister pack, and started asking where the other one was, and Mr Woodhouse pointed at Mr Dixon to indicate that he had her tablets. She started asking him for them, and he was saying he didn’t have them.”

Mr Campbell told the jury that Ms Watkinson and Mr Dixon moved into the hallway and an argument ensued about where the missing pack of pregabalin had gone.

The defendants remained in the kitchen and were ‘shouting that they wanted their stuff,’ referring to the pregabalin, as Ms Watkinson and Mr Dixon continued to argue. 

Mr Woodhouse reported hearing ‘at least one of the men in the kitchen’ shouting ‘I want them back now’ and threatening to ‘drag’ Mr Dixon outside to ‘get them,’ the court heard.

Mr Dixon was described as becoming ‘verbally abusive’ in response saying things like: “Do you know I’m from Pitsmoor’. 

Mr Campbell said this claim was untrue because Mr Dixon had been born and brought up in Worsbrough, and the jury may find he said it in an attempt to ‘big himself’ up ‘so they would leave him alone’.

'Defendants were acting like a tag team, taking it in turns to assault their victim'

He told the jury: “Darren Woodhouse will tell you that the two defendants started to assault Carl Dixon. He will tell you, by this time, Carl Dixon was straddling Ms Watkinson, she was lying with her back to the stairs, on the stairs. He [Mr Woodhouse] described Mr Dixon was in the missionary position over her. He therefore had his back to his attackers…both defendants were kicking and punching Mr Dixon all over his body. They were focusing on his back, and on the back of his head. Mr Woodhouse describes the defendants as acting like a tag team, taking it in turns to assault their victim.”

The jury were told that Mr Woodhouse claims that one of the defendants then got hold of a pair of garden shears and hit Mr Dixon with the blunt end, before the same man went into the kitchen and returned with a kitchen knife that had a black handle and a silver, serrated blade.  

“Mr Woodhouse was able to see the attacker lurching over Carl Dixon and stab him several times in the back. He also saw him stab Catherine Watkinson to her left arm, although he was sure that wasn’t what the attackers intended.”

“Suddenly, Mr Dixon got to his feet, and facing his attackers, he began to fight back. It looked to Mr Woodhouse as though Craig Dixon had just had a shot of adrenaline, he was acting like He-Man’.

Mr Dixon also suffered two stab wounds to the chest, one of which pierced his attack, the jury were told. 

Mr Campbell is set to continue outlining the prosecution case to the jury on Tuesday, March 12.

Mr Cheetham and Mr Shaw both deny one charge of murder and one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. 

The trial, which is expected to last for around a fortnight, continues.