Life In Jail For Birmingham Killer

28 February 2019, 14:18 | Updated: 28 February 2019, 14:21

A man who fatally stabbed another man after a row outside a pub in the West Midlands has been jailed for life.

Carlton Junior Donaldson stabbed Daniel Baird in the chest in an area of Digbeth in Birmingham in the early hours of 8 July 2017.

Witnesses described seeing 24-year-old Donaldson - who was aged 22 at the time - lashing out wildly with a combat-style knife before fatally wounding Mr Baird.

The 26-year-old, from Yardley, was driven to hospital alongside pal Dale Scott who’d also been stabbed - but minutes into the journey collapsed and was soon pronounced dead.

Trouble flared at around 4am in the Forge Tavern.

Carlton Junior Donaldson stabbed Daniel Baird in the chest in Fazeley Street, Digbeth, after a clash between two groups in the Forge Tavern pub in the early hours of 8 July 2017. pic.twitter.com/mxGjD6qgMy

— West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) 28 February 2019

Daniel’s mum Lynne Baird thanked the “tireless" work of West Midlands Police detectives in helping secure justice for their family.

She added:" Thanks to the tireless work of West Midlands Police and everyone else involved we are relieved Carlton Donaldson has been convicted of the murder of our lovely son, Dan.
We hope that he will never be able to inflict such hell on another family.

West Midlands Police pushed for an expedited review of the Forge Tavern’s licence in the immediate aftermath of the murder; the venue was closed down and has never since reopened as a pub.

DCI Ed Foster from @DetectivesWMP said: “This is an extremely tragic case. Another young man has lost his life to knife crime.
“The trigger was someone stumbling into another person. There was no bad blood between the groups but that minor incident escalated into a fatal fight." pic.twitter.com/XyQ1rVJzfd

— West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) 28 February 2019