Murderers jailed for life - Norwich

Three men who stabbed and murdered an 18-year old on a Norwich Street have been handed life sentences - jailed for a total of more than 60 years between them.

Cameron Palmer, age 19, of Theobald Road, Norwich, Hans Beeharry, age 20, of Abbey Court, Bracondale, Norwich, and Benjamin Gil, age 19, of Lefroy Road, Norwich, were sentenced at Norwich Crown Court today (Wednesday 4 October 2023). 

Palmer and Gil will serve a minimum of 21 years in prison and Beeharry will serve a minimum of 20 years for the murder of Joe Dix. 

Today’s sentences follow a trial in August this year when a jury convicted Palmer, Beeharry and Gil of murdering 18-year-old Joe Dix in Vale Green, Norwich, on 28 January 2022.

All three had denied murder.

During the five-week trial in August, the court heard how police were called to Vale Green in Norwich shortly before 7pm on Friday 28 January 2022 following a report a man had been stabbed. They arrived to find 18-year-old Joe Dix lying in the road with serious knife wounds.

CCTV shown to the court captured Mr Dix being chased by Palmer, Gil and Beeharry and then, as he returned into the view of the CCTV, staggering towards his home address.

Despite attempts to save his life, Mr Dix died at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital an hour later. A Home Office post-mortem later established he had died from hypovolaemic shock, and a stab wound to the torso. He had been stabbed seven times – two of those proved to be fatal.

Palmer, Beeharry and Gil had been involved in a County Lines drugs’ line in Norwich selling Class A drugs.

During their investigation, detectives from Norfolk Constabulary’s Major Investigation Team discovered Mr Dix had received a phone call from a friend at 6.48pm on Friday 28 January 2022. His friend was a County Lines drug dealer who operated out of a flat in Vale Green – later described as a “crack den” - and told him he was being robbed.

Evidence of a Snapchat text conversation – found on a mobile phone that had been dumped in the River Yare and unlocked by police forensic specialists - later confirmed Palmer had been involved in organising the same robbery.

Using CCTV and dashcam footage, detectives plotted the trio’s return journey from the murder scene to Gil’s address in Lefroy Road, Norwich.

Palmer, Gil and Beeharry made every effort to cover their tracks: setting fire to the clothing they had worn, getting rid of their knives – which have never been recovered - and attempting to destroy their mobile phones by throwing them into the River Yare. Forensic analysis confirmed all three phones had dropped off the network at about 11.20pm on the night of the murder.

Beeharry, Gill and Palmer were arrested at about 7am on 10 February 2022. They all offered no comment in interview.

Today, Joe’s mum Emma told the court: “The past 19 months have thrown our lives in turmoil with the tragic death of our beloved son Joe. It is unthinkable that a child should die before their parents. Joe was not sick nor did we get to say goodbye. He was taken from us; he was murdered.

“Joe was a lovable character, he talked to everyone, he was obsessed with Nike trainers and most of all if he liked you, he would go out of his way to help you.

“Despite the guilty verdicts, nobody is a winner and we will never get Joe back. Our life will never be the same, we will never get to see, hug, or smell Joe again. Our lives past, present and in the future have changed. Joe is now a memory.

“Since January this year we have spent over 10 long weeks at court. Listening to the horrific details of the incident that led to Joe’s death and seeing body map images of all his injuries was dreadful. But nothing compared to the shocking footage of Joe running for his life; being chased, followed by the heart-breaking scene of him collapsing. I can’t tell you how many times these scenes have replayed over and over in our heads. We are left wondering if Joe was in pain and did he know he was dying.

“We have been served our own life sentence. We are desperately trying to make sense of what has happened.”

Detective Superintendent Phill Gray, who led the murder investigation, said: “We’re grateful to the jury for the guilty verdicts and today’s life sentences. They went to extreme lengths to cover their tracks and did everything possible to destroy evidence and now, they’re behind bars.

“Our thoughts remain with Joe’s family and friends and while today’s sentencing will never bring him back to them, I hope it gives them some closure. They continue to face a future without him, and I know his family miss him terribly. I want to sincerely thank them for their bravery and support throughout this investigation and in court.

“What’s happened here should serve as a warning to anybody carrying a knife. Palmer, Beeharry and Gil were teenagers starting out in life, teenagers who chose to carry knives, chose to go to Vale Green, chose to chase Joe and chose to stab him seven times. They were intent on violence and left him for dead. I’d appeal to anyone who thinks it’s acceptable to carry knives, look at what happened here: lives have been lost and destroyed. Please make a different choice.”