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Family wins high court bid over fatal club stabbing

Aida FofanaWest Midlands
News imageBBC Four people stand outside The Priory Courts in Birmingham, posing for a photograph in front of a sign displaying the building number “33”. Each person is wearing a red remembrance poppy. From left to right: one person wears a blue suit jacket over a pale blue patterned shirt; the second wears a black coat over a dark top and carries a black shoulder bag; the third wears a green tweed-style coat over a grey cardigan and black roll-neck top; and the fourth wears a navy-blue zip-up jacket and dark trousers. The entrance to the court building and surrounding city street are visible in the background.BBC
Passey's stepfather Phil Taylor and mother Gill Taylor (right) and father Adrian Passey have continued to push for answers after his death

The family of a man stabbed in a nightclub in 2017 have welcomed a High Court ruling that could lead to the circumstances of his death being re-examined.

Ryan Passey's family have been granted permission to challenge a decision made by the Director of Public Prosecutions not to apply to the Court of Appeal to consider overturning the acquittal of a man in connection with the killing.

Passey, 24, died from a single stab wound at Chicago's nightclub in Stourbridge on 6 August 2017. The man tried for murder was cleared by a jury in 2018. A subsequent civil case ruled that Passey had been unlawfully killed.

Emotions ran high in court, with tears visible in the public gallery after the judge granted a full hearing. His father, Adrian Passey, said although they did not expect the decision, it was a welcome one.

"Our family coming on a long journey, nine years fighting for our boy and we're never going to give up," he said.

Jason Connon, family friend and spokesperson for the Justice For Ryan campaign, described the ruling as a step towards "truth and justice".

"We'll fight on, however long it takes for justice...we fought for nearly 10 years now for the truth and we're still in the fight.

"It was a David versus Goliath moment."

The judicial review was brought by the group Justice for Ryan and heard in Birmingham on Tuesday. The group campaigned for a fresh examination of the case.

News imageFamily photo A man with short brown hair in a grey suit, white shirt and dark tie standing in front of a brown stone castle wall with a white car parked in front of itFamily photo
Ryan Passey died after he was stabbed during a night out in August 2017

Passey's family were told in June that new evidence submitted by police to prosecutors in 2025 was not enough to bring charges, but further evidence had been found and was reviewed by the CPS in August.

At the murder trial in 2018, the accused, Kobe Murray, admitted stabbing Passey but said he had "pushed out" in defence during an altercation, not intending to pierce Passey with the knife he held.

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court acquitted him of murder and manslaughter, but Passey's family later won a civil case against Murray in 2021 after successfully arguing Passey had been unlawfully killed.

Stepfather Phil Taylor hoped that being able to challenge the decision not to seek to overturn Murray's acquittal would get "people to see that Ryan is innocent all the way through this."

"This is our time, and we're going to make it, so whatever happens, we're not going to give up," he said.

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