A father, who had been warned of thieves breaking into his family’s home through a camera on Ring’s bell, rushed to the house and “brutally and mercilessly” stabbed one to death, the court heard.
Carl Townsend and his half-brother Jamie Cunningham are said to have armed themselves with knives after being notified of a burglary at his property in Halewood, Merseyside, Liverpool Echo reports. Townsend allegedly shouted at three intruders to leave his home before stabbing Jordan Brophy in the face and head.
Prosecutors say one of those punctures in Mr Brophy’s eye left a broken blade stuck in his brain. They claim that Townsend and Cunningham left the scene, but returned shortly after when Townsend stabbed the 31-year-old man in his jugular vein.
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The 32-year-old Townsend and the 23-year-old Cunningham, who deny murder and have a blade object, were both brought to trial yesterday (April 25th) in Liverpool court. Richard Pratt, QC, prosecutor, said: “The prosecution is that this is not a case of a host in a state of fear and panic, reacting in a moment of horror to what he considers a real danger. It was a brutal and ruthless murder, whether out of revenge or punishment, of a defenseless man. “
The court heard that Townsend lives on Beachwood Avenue with his partner Amelia Rigby and their child. On the evening of October 29 last year, his girlfriend was out for a walk with the child and their dog while he was at his parents’ house in nearby Penman Crescent, where Cunningham also lived.
Mr Pratt said Mr Brophy was “involved in burglary” with other people at Townsend’s home. He said the property has a security video surveillance system that includes a doorbell, which means that if there is an event, the cameras are activated and the host is notified via his mobile phone.
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Townsend left home at 6:26 p.m. in his Mercedes GLA. About five minutes later, three cars were spotted traveling on Beechwood Avenue, which Mr. Pratt said “looks like they’re in a convoy.”
He said one or more of those cars were transporting Mr Brophy and “three unknown collaborators” to carry out a “decisive and apparently targeted attack” at Townsend’s house. He said that after finding that the house was empty, three of them broke through a side door, and the fourth was waiting in another Mercedes car parked nearby.
Mr Pratt said Townsend and Cunningham “hurried” to the house after the bell’s camera went off and they “armed themselves with large knives”. He said: “When they entered, Carl Townsend could be heard shouting at the thieves to leave his house or do something to them with the knife he was carrying – the real word is unclear, recorded on audio to CCTV footage.
“What actually happened inside the house was not filmed by any camera. But 25 seconds after the two defendants entered the property, the thieves were spotted coming out of the back door, and Jordan Brophy complained that he could not see, and he had some kind of trauma to his face in the eye area.
“There was a reason he couldn’t see. Carl Townsend had stabbed him twice in the face and head. The stabbing was so severe that it penetrated the bones and cartilage and in one case cut the optic nerve and entered the brain. The impact was such that the knife broke not once but twice, leaving broken parts of the blade embedded in Jordan Brophy’s skull and brain. “
A member of Mr Brophy’s family wept in the public gallery as the prosecutor continued: “I now want to make it clear, ladies and gentlemen, that burglary is, of course, a heinous crime and can cause misery to those who return. to find their homes. It must be even worse to find the perpetrators still in the house.
“But this cannot begin to justify this level of severe violence. But what’s worse is that even after he stabbed Jordan Brophy with such force that he left him with only the remnants of a broken knife in his hand, Carl Townsend was not done. “
The court heard that he and his half-brother came out of the front door and drove off while Mr. Brophy’s associates went to get their car. Mr Pratt said Mr Brophy was still able to move and other thieves had tried to get him back in his car, but he had split up and “apparently lay low and was trying to hide”. , before “seeing a chance to break through the cover” and running out into the street.
Mr. Pratt said “unhappily” about him, the car carrying Townsend and Cunningham returned about a minute later and crashed into a wall in front of another house on the street. He said: “Jordan Brophy, badly wounded and unarmed, as we say, separated from his collaborators, came face to face with Carl Townsend again.
“And Carl Townsend still had that broken knife with him. A neighbor saw “Carl” when she heard him being called repeatedly to hit a man who was pressed against a car parked on the other side of the road for her. “
Mr Pratt said prosecutors said Townsend had a knife in his hand – the same knife he used to stab Mr Brophy – and what the neighbor thought were blows were stab wounds, one of which was has entered about 4.5 cm deep into Mr Brophy’s neck and his jugular vein, causing “catastrophic blood loss”.
He said: “According to the pathologist Jordan Brophy, he would have died in time from the brain injuries inflicted on the house, but the one in the jugular vein killed him almost instantly.
Mr Pratt said Townsend had caused Mr Brophy’s death, according to the indictment, adding: “What we understand is not in dispute.” However, he said Cunningham was “responsible”.
QC said that after arming himself with a knife, Cunningham went with his half-brother to the house, left home, then returned after realizing that Mr. Brophy had been stabbed in the head, then stayed out with Townsend until both left the scene. He said Mr Brophy’s blood was later found on his clothes.
Mr Pratt claims that Cunningham “clearly and intentionally helped and encouraged” his half-brother, intending either to kill Mr Brophy or to cause him serious harm.
Procedure.
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