Reece Heffernan murder: Verdicts given in Halloween Tilehurst trial

A jury gave their verdicts - which saw one acquitted of murder - after nine hours and 57 minutes of deliberation.

The verdicts mark the conclusion of the trial into the death of Reece Heffernan, who was stabbed to death at a property on Romany Lane, Tilehurst, on Halloween 2021. 

Four people were charged with the 22-year-old’s murder while another two were charged with offences in connection with the incident. 

Tuviah Thompson Hordle, 18, of Brant Close, Wokingham, Carlos Fonseca, 24, of Fawn Drive, Reading, and a 17-year-old boy from Earley, who we cannot name for legal reasons, were all convicted of murder. 

Carlos Fonseca

Hamzah Ahmed, a 19-year-old man, of Jubilee Road, Reading, was found not guilty of murder and not guilty of perverting the course of justice. He previously admitted one count of supplying cannabis.

Thompson-Hordle and the 17-year-old were convicted of perverting the course of justice. 

Tuviah Thompson Hordle

Thompson-Hordle, and Fonseca were found guilty of supplying cannabis. The 17-year-old had already admitted to supplying cannabis.

Madison Henderson, 18, of King’s Road, Reading, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and supplying cannabis. 

Umer Arshad, 24, of Waterloo Road, Wokingham was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice and not guilty of supplying cannabis. 

Damian Wozniak, aged 19, of Kings Road, Reading had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiring to pervert the course of justice and conspiracy to supply a class B controlled drug.

The defendants convicted of murder will be sentenced at Reading Crown Court on September 12.

Ahmed, Henderson and Wozniak will be sentenced on October 21.

Opening the trial of the six defendants in June, prosecutor Stuart Trimmer QC said: “This was the unlawful killing of Reece Heffernan. 

“There is no justification for it. No one has said they were defending themselves. He was murdered, the Crown says.”

The jury was shown CCTV footage of the moment Reece Heffernan was killed. 

It showed a silver MG and a blue BMW in a convoy driving up and down Romany Lane at around 10.40pm on October 31, 2021. 

Reece Heffernan was in a group outside his home when two of the defendants -- the 17-year-old boy and Thompson Hordle -- got out of the MG and ran towards the group. 

Reading Crown Court heard how the boy and Thompson Hordle were masked and carrying knives as they ran towards the crowd. 

Three of the group ran inside but Heffernan was caught by one of the knife-wielders and stabbed in the chest. He was declared dead after 11pm.

A pathologist said he died of a single stab wound to the left side of his chest that pierced his heart. It travelled 16cm into his body. 

“This was no accident. This was a deliberate murderous attack”, Mr Trimmer said at the start of the trial. 

The knife-wielders got back into the MG and drove off, the court heard, with Fonseca behind the wheel. 

Madison Henderson assisted the offenders by organising short-let accommodation for them in Slough. 

Mr Trimmer concluded: “It is the prosecution case they were all part of a team playing their respective parts in order to kill somebody.”

“Once they carried out their plan, they did all they could to cover their tracks.”

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Andy Howard of Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime Unit, said: “This was a tragic incident in which a young man lost his life.

“Although not all of the defendants physically attacked Reece, three of them were proven to have played a part in his death.

“This was a chilling incident, both in terms of the speed of the attack on Reece, but also because I do not believe that Reece was the intended target for this group.

“The three males responsible for Reece’s murder were intent on serious violence that night and they spent some time driving around Tilehurst before they saw Reece and two of his friends in Romany Lane. For reasons that remain known only to them, as they drove past Reece and his friends they decided to launch a sudden and brutal attack, which tragically resulted in Reece’s death.   

“None of those convicted have taken any responsibility for their actions, either in carrying out this attack, or in seeking to cover up evidence afterwards.

“I am pleased that the jury convicted the defendants on the basis of the evidence presented, and I would like to thank them for their careful consideration of the case.

 “On behalf of the investigation team and Thames Valley Police as a whole I would like to extend my condolences to Reece’s family and friends.

“They have shown tremendous patience and dignity throughout the course of the investigation and trial.

“These verdicts will not bring Reece back and will not fill the void that his death has left but I hope that his family and friends are at least able to feel that justice has been served, and that those responsible for Reece’s death have been held to account for their callous actions, along with those that supported them in trying to conceal and dispose of evidence.”