Man stabbed football fan after threatening to ‘ju-jitsu’ clubbers, court told

Ross Hamilton is accused of plunged a piece of broken glass into the neck of Reece Newcombe in a nightclub in south-west London.

Reece Newcombe (Metropolitan Police/PA) (PA Media)

A man was fatally stabbed in the neck after his alleged assailant acted aggressively on a night out, doing karate kicks on a dance floor and threatening to “ju-jitsu the f***” out of someone, a court has heard.

Ross Hamilton had been “spoiling for a fight” and armed himself with a piece of broken glass before he plunged it into the neck of Reece Newcombe, 31, the Old Bailey heard.

Mr Newcombe was found after police were called to reports of a fight on Richmond Bridge in south-west London in the early hours of November 26 2022.

Prosecutor Louis Mably KC said the fight was fuelled by “intoxicated aggression” and Hamilton’s decision to arm himself “changed everything”.

The sad truth is there was no need for this fight to happen - it was an event that was fuelled by intoxicated aggression

Louis Mably

Earlier that night, Mr Newcombe had been watching England play the USA in a World Cup game being screened in a fanzone in Richmond Park.

He went on to Viva nightclub in Richmond where he became intoxicated and had a “good time”, jurors were told.

Mr Mably said the alleged attacker, described as a bald man, had also been in the club acting in an “aggressive and unpredictable manner”.

The prosecutor said: “He seemed to be goading people doing karate kicks on the dance floor and putting his arm around people and behaving aggressively towards them.”

He continued to act aggressively after the club closed and people spilled outside, it was alleged.

Mr Mably said: “He began confronting people, and goading them to go and fight him down an alleyway.

“He said, in his words, ‘I will ju-jitsu the f*** out of you’. In short, the bald man was spoiling for a fight.”

Shortly before 4am, Mr Newcombe made the “tragic decision” to engage with the man who had already armed himself with a piece of broken glass, jurors heard.

After he was stabbed in the neck, Mr Newcombe’s friends rushed to help him.

The bald man, allegedly identified as Hamilton, later handed himself in to police, jurors were told.

Mr Mably said: “The sad truth is there was no need for this fight to happen – it was an event that was fuelled by intoxicated aggression. It was not a case of the defendant defending himself, but of two people willing to fight.

“The defendant had armed himself with a weapon and got the fight he was looking for.”

Hamilton, 34, from Isleworth, west London, denies murder, assault by beating and possessing an offensive weapon.

The Old Bailey trial continues.