Frazer Brabant: No review of murder case, police confirm

Hampshire Constabulary said it has found no areas of its response or investigation that merit any review and that the criminal probe has now concluded, after two men previously jailed for life over the Halloween murder of Basingstoke father Frazer Brabant were dramatically cleared at a retrial.

Lee Wood and Forhad Miah, both now 35, were convicted in 2023 of murdering 31-year-old Mr Brabant, who was chased from a flat in Gershwin Road on October 31, 2019 and struck repeatedly to the head and face with a machete or sword‑type weapon. He never regained consciousness and died in hospital in January 2020.

At the original Winchester Crown Court trial, a jury found four men – Wood, Miah, Scott Neale and James O’Connor – guilty of murder after hearing how the group tracked Mr Brabant for months in what prosecutors said was a revenge campaign over a cannabis robbery. A fifth man, Ricky Lewis, also known as Ricky Neale, was convicted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent but cleared of murder and violent disorder.

Frazer Brabant (Image: Hampshire Constabulary)

Wood and Miah were later granted permission to appeal and their convictions were quashed, leading to a retrial at Winchester this spring. The Hon. Mr Justice Edward Murray ruled there was no case for the jury to consider on any of the counts they faced and directed not guilty verdicts on charges of murder, conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and violent disorder.

In a statement to the Gazette, Detective Chief Inspector Howard Broadribb, of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, said officers had been committed from the outset to getting justice for Mr Brabant’s family and described the original inquiry as a “complex investigation” which led to the 2023 convictions.

He said: “From the very outset, we have been committed in getting justice for the family of Frazer Brabant, following the brutal attack on him in 2019. The resulting, complex investigation led to the conviction of four men for murder, and a fifth man for associated violent disorder, in 2023.

“During the recent retrial of two of those men, Forhad Miah and Lee Wood, the judge directed the jury to find them not guilty of murder, conspiracy to cause GBH and violent disorder. We accept the decision of the court.

“Our thoughts remain with Frazer’s friends and family. They have shown great dignity throughout this process and I would like to thank them for their support.”

Addressing questions about whether the case would now be reviewed, a spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary added: “We have identified no areas of police response and investigation that would benefit from an internal or external review for learning, and the criminal investigation itself has concluded.”

The position means there will be no internal or external scrutiny of how the case was handled and that police now regard the Brabant murder investigation as closed.

While Wood and Miah have now been acquitted, two men convicted alongside them at the original trial remain in prison serving life sentences for Mr Brabant’s murder. Neale, of Spindle Close, Basingstoke, and O’Connor, of Fairfield, Whitchurch, were each jailed for life after being found guilty in 2023.

Sentencing at the time, the trial judge described the killing as a “brutal and sustained” attack in which the group barged into a flat in Gershwin Road, chased Mr Brabant into the front garden and struck him multiple times with a heavy, sharp‑edged weapon, causing catastrophic brain injuries.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “We secured convictions against three people in relation to the murder of Frazer Brabant and our thoughts remain with his family.

“At a retrial for two additional defendants, the court ruled certain evidence could no longer be presented. After careful review of this decision, we determined there were no grounds for appeal.

“We remain satisfied that we charged and prosecuted the defendants in this case appropriately.”

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that the previously secured convictions are not under review.

They said: “We secured convictions against three people in relation to the murder of Frazer Brabant and our thoughts remain with his family.

“At a retrial for two additional defendants, the court ruled certain evidence could no longer be presented. After careful review of this decision, we determined there were no grounds for appeal.

“We remain satisfied that we charged and prosecuted the defendants in this case appropriately.”