Sheffield 'murder' victim filmed as he was threatened with mutilation shortly before death, jury told

A video showing a Sheffield man on the night he suffered fatal head injuries, bleeding from his nose and naked from the waist down - as women can be heard threatening to ‘mutilate’ him with scissors - was recovered from the phone of one of two defendants accused of his murder, a jury has been told.   

60-year-old Stephen Mark Koszyczarski died in the early hours of August 11, 2023, after being found seriously injured at his home in Fraser Drive, Woodseats, Sheffield, around 30 hours earlier, on the evening of August 9. 

Stephen’s neighbours, Zoe Rider, aged 36, and 45-year-old Nicola Lethbridge have today (April 30, 2024) gone on trial at Sheffield Crown Court, accused of murdering and robbing Stephen. Ms Rider and Ms Lethbridge each deny both charges they face. 

Prior to their selection, the jury were informed that they would be shown ‘distressing’ footage, in which Stephen’s genitals could be seen, as part of the prosecution case against the two defendants; and were asked to tell Judge Sarah Wright whether they believed they could remain on the jury panel under those circumstances. 

Opening the prosecution case, Andrew O’Byrne KC told the jury of eight women and four men: “We say the assault upon him was sadistic.”

The jury were told that the women whose voices can be heard on the video accused Stephen of being a ‘paedophile’ and a ‘nonce’ but Mr O’Byrne said there was ‘no suggestion he was ever such a person’. 

“But that’s what they were suggesting. He can be seen in the footage, bleeding from his nose,” said Mr O’Byrne.

“The footage is distressing, in that it shows him with his genitals [out] and the defendants with scissors, threatening to mutilate him.”

During the course of the video, a female voice can be heard shouting: ‘Let’s chop it off, let’s chop it off’. 

Mr O’Byrne said the phone that recorded the footage belonged to Ms Lethbridge, who appeared in the dock dressed in grey and black, and with rosary beads around her neck; and it is the prosecution case that the two voices that can be heard on the video are those of both Ms Lethbridge and Ms Rider. 

“What we don’t know is whether the video captures every incident of violence inflicted upon him, the probability is it doesn’t,” said Mr O’Byrne. 

He continued: “It seems - from the prosecution point of view, looking at the defence - that each of those two women will seek to blame the other for what happened to Stephen…the prosecution say they were acting together that night, and remained together even after Stephen was taken to hospital.”  

Mr O’Byrne told the jury that Stephen was ‘vulnerable’ due to his ‘significant health problems,’ for which he was fitted with an alarm in case of an emergency. 

Stephen activated the alarm at around 11.20pm on the night he suffered the fatal injuries, and told the operator he ‘had been attacked’. 

“He said he didn’t want the police, but he did require an ambulance. While that conversation was taking place you could hear voices in the background. We say those voices were that of these two defendants,” Mr O’Byrne said.  

An ambulance arrived at the scene ‘promptly’ at 11.38pm, but the crew were initially unable to assist Stephen because he was unable to open the front door in his injured state; and it was only after the fire service arrived at 12.06am that paramedics were able to gain access to his flat, the court heard.

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Stephen was rushed to the emergency and critical care department of Northern General Hospital, where medics subsequently determined he had suffered ‘fatal and unsurvivable’ head injuries. Life support was ultimately withdrawn, after which time Stephen died at 6.08am on August 11, 2023, Mr O’Byrne told the jury.  

Summarising the conclusions of pathologist Dr Philip Lumb, who carried out Stephen’s post-mortem, Mr O’Byrne said Dr Lumb believed Stephen’s head injuries were a consequence of ‘sustained blunt force physical’ trauma, resulting in a ‘haematoma to his skull, which put pressure on the brain’. 

The jury were told that Dr Lumb determined that Stephen had also suffered a number of other injuries, including a broken nose, bruising to both eyes and his cheeks, as well as ‘major, substantial bruising’ to the left side of his torso and chest, which Dr Lumb is said to believe were ‘likely caused by kicks when the deceased was on the ground’.  

Ms Rider and Ms Lethbridge both lived in the same block of flats as Stephen, with Ms Lethbridge living on the same floor as him, and Ms Rider living on the top floor. 

Both defendants were arrested at the flat block on August 10, 2023. The jury were told that a ‘distinctive blue ring’ along with other jewellery believed to belong to Stephen - who was said to take pleasure in collecting things - were found in the possession of Ms Rider, who was dressed all in black during today’s proceedings. 

While an ambulance was in attendance at the flat block to attend to Stephen, Ms Lethbridge called two taxis within the space of 15 minutes, requesting to be taken to an address and back, but said she did not have the money to pay for the taxi and intended to pick up the cash to pay for it at the other address, the court heard. 

After posing the question of why Ms Lethbridge would call a taxi, knowing she could not pay the fare, Mr O'Byrne told the jury: “What you may want to consider is that she was on her way to sell or trade the items when she got the taxi.”

Following the defendants’ arrest, Ms Lethbridge told an officer while she was in custody that she ‘hit a person twice, and then he died’. 

Mr O’Byrne said Ms Lethbridge signed a statement to that effect, before telling those present at her police interview that it was Ms Rider who had attacked Stephen, that she tried to leave, but Ms Rider ‘pulled her back by her hair and forced her to participate in the assault on Stephen and she gave him a half-hearted blow’. 

Ms Ryder and Ms Lethbdrige, both of Fraser Drive, Woodseats, Sheffield, both deny one count of murder, and one count of robbery. 

The trial, which is expected to last for three weeks, continues.