A teenager charged with the murder of an 18-year-old man in the centre of Ipswich ‘effectively’ admitted he was the man filmed on CCTV wielding a machete at the scene, a court has heard.

Joshua Howell, 18, of Wellington Street, Ipswich, told a social worker that he had not been involved in the alleged murder but the court heard he admitted he had been “at the wrong place at the wrong time” when it happened.

Ipswich Crown Court heard on December 12 that with co-defendant Alfie Hammett, 19, of Larkhill Rise, Rushmere St Andrew, Howell had confronted the victim Raymond James Quigley and his two friends on Westgate Street, Ipswich.

Mr Jackson said Hammett stabbed Mr Quigley but he added Joshua Howell also pulled out what jurors might also think is a machete “and so armed and providing an intimidating presence prevented any of Mr Quigley’s friends from intervening to help”.

The court then heard that Joshua Howell chased one of those friends at knife point into a nearby branch of a JD Sports shop to make sure the friend could do nothing to help and this allowed Alfie Hammett to kill James Quigley.

The prosecutor told the court that Howell had told the social worker that at the time of the stabbing he had run into JD Sports and that since only two people ran into JD Sports, including Mr Quigley’s friend, that ‘effectively’ meant Mr Howell had admitted to the social worker he was the one wielding the machete in the shop.  

Mr Jackson said even though Mr Howell had not actually stabbed Mr Quigley he was also guilty of his murder because he said murder is committed when one person or persons who act together causes the death of a person unlawfully.

The court heard that Howell had bought a ticket to Kenya after he had been charged.

It also heard that his fellow defendant Mr Hammett had attempted to wipe his phone by factory resetting it when police turned up at his house to arrest him in January.