Barton Town defender Jack Bulless said: “It was a numbing feeling. You don’t believe it could happen to one of your mates.”
Bulless, who played alongside James at Bridlington Town, was due to be part of the squad for the one-day trip to York but pulled out due to illness.
Longtime friend and teammate Andy Norfolk joined James and their friends.
“I remember the Manchester derby was on TV in the bars we visited,” says Norfolk.
“It was the annual Christmas meeting, a day trip, nothing too strenuous. We went back to the station to get home early.
“I took a taxi back to Hull as the train didn’t leave for another hour. I remember Hitchy saying he was going to buy some food.”
It was the last time Norfolk saw his friend.
Leeds Crown Court heard James suffered a fractured skull and brain damage after he was punched to the right side of the back of the head and fell to the ground.
Recalling that day, April says, “I was putting Freddie to sleep when I got the call that James had been shot, passed out, and was going to the hospital.
“At that point I thought he was having a concussion and I had to take my bag because he was only going to be there for a day or two.
“When I got to the hospital they explained that he had to be transferred to intensive care at Hull Royal Infirmary. He was on life support until he lost the battle.”
Mckenzie Dicicco, then 22, was jailed for six years and eight months in July 2025 after pleading guilty to manslaughter for what Judge Guy Curl said was a “cowardly, deliberate and brutal attack on a person who had no chance of defending himself or herself”.
Speaking after the verdict, April explained that she was “lost and alone because the love of my life was so selfishly taken from me.”
James’ father Chris, who took his son to Elland Road to watch David O’Leary’s Leeds team in the late 90s, says his life was changed forever by “one senseless act”.
“I don’t live anymore – I exist,” he says.
“I try to be happy, I try to do everything and put on a brave face. But it will never be the same for me.”