Man murdered partner and neighbour in ‘cocaine-fuelled attack' on Christmas Day
A man murdered his partner and neighbour and tried to kill his son in an unprovoked and 'frenzied' attack after taking cocaine on Christmas Day, a court has heard.
Jazwell Brown, 49, fatally stabbed Joanne Pearson, 38, with a kitchen knife and beat her with a baseball bat in their flat in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, before doing the same to 18-year-old Jake Brown, who survived the incident, Luton Crown Court heard.
He then entered his neighbour's flat where he stabbed Teohna Grant, 24, and tried to murder her boyfriend Bradley Latter, 29, by stabbing him multiple times.
Ms Pearson was stabbed 31 times in the attack, while Ms Grant suffered five sharp force injuries, including a deep stab wound to the neck, and Jake Brown was left with a life-threatening wound to his chest, a sentencing hearing was told on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC told the court: 'The evidence suggests that the assaults were wholly unprovoked, committed by the defendant whilst he was under the influence of cocaine.'
The court heard the defendant lived on the second floor of a communal housing block in Santa Cruz Avenue, Bletchley at the time of the events.
Brown and Ms Pearson had been in an 'unhealthy' relationship for several years, with both taking Class A drugs and the pair regularly heard arguing by neighbours, Ms Heer said.
Jake Brown visited their flat on the evening of December 25 last year and Ms Pearson told him they had both been smoking crack cocaine.
After Ms Pearson was reluctant to smoke the same drug in front of Jake, the defendant 'seemed to become suspicious' and sat quietly, Ms Heer said.
'The defendant then picked up a screwdriver and a kitchen knife from the table in the living room and approached Pearson, who asked him what he was doing and tried to walk away,' the prosecutor said.
'Without saying a word, he began to stab her with the knife repeatedly in a frenzied attack.
'Jake Brown tried to pull his father away from her, only for the defendant to turn to him and stab him in the chest.'
Jake Brown describes his father as being 'completely expressionless' as he attacked them, the court heard.
The teenage boy called the police as he hid in the bathroom before Brown breached the room, holding the baseball bat.
Jake told officers there had been no argument and nothing to justify the defendant's actions, and that the attack was like 'watching a horror film', the prosecutor said.
Brown then made his way across the communal landing to the flat next door, where Mr Latter and Ms Grant, who had left their door unlocked, were sitting in the living room enjoying a quiet Christmas day, the court heard.
The defendant then stabbed both victims multiple times with a 'blank' face, Ms Heer said.
The prosecutor added: 'He stared Mr Latter dead in the eyes and continued to stab him, without saying a word.'
Soon afterwards, a witness living opposite the flat saw Ms Grant come out onto the balcony of the flat holding the front of her throat with her hands, shouting 'Help! I can't breathe.'
After leaving the second flat, Brown then walked 'in a manner described as casual with his hands in his pockets' towards the car park where he got into his car, the prosecutor said.
Police officers, who had arrived at the scene and were standing in the road, attempted to stop him but the defendant instead drove directly towards them, forcing them to move out of the way, before driving off without switching his headlights on.
Brown's vehicle was located by the police driving erratically at speeds of up to 50mph, eventually being brought to a halt by armed police in Milton Keynes, the court heard.
The prosecutor said officers described the defendant as 'spaced out' and he appeared to have blood on his hands as they were placed in handcuffs.
A bloodstained knife was found on the passenger seat of his car, with the defendant's fingerprint in blood on the knife, while spots of Ms Pearson's and Mr Latter's blood were found on his trainers.
Whilst in a cell following his arrest, Brown made the unsolicited comment: 'Oh Jesus, what happened tonight What happened tonight, boy? Pure f****** madness. Pure madness.
'I've gone f****** crazy guys. Just gone crazy.'
He went on to say 'I've gone bloody looney', before later saying: 'Not self-defence. Murder. It's plain murder, not self-defence. Murder'.
In a victim impact statement read in court, Mr Latter said: 'We both thought of you as our neighbour and close friend for a number of years.
'The impact your crimes have had on me are never-ending. My whole world and future was heinously taken away by you.'
He added: 'The world will now and forever go on without you here.'
Parris Grant, Teohna's sister, said in her own statement that Teohna was 'a pure and kind soul' and described her as 'irreplaceable'.
She said she now found herself becoming anxious in public, and addressed the defendant as she added: 'I have an irrational fear now that anyone I come across will be like you.
'I don't see Christmas as Christmas anymore – I see it as the day you stole my sister.'
Susan Pearson, Joanne's mother, said in her statement, read out by Ms Heer in court: 'We can only imagine how horrific her final moments were at the hands of Jazwell Brown.
'Our own wellbeing has also been seriously compromised. Our faith in humanity has been seriously rocked. We don't think we will ever understand.'
Brown pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, possession of a knife in a public place and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on April 15.
The court heard he had 10 previous convictions for 15 separate offences, including an offence of battery against a former partner for which he was convicted in 2009.
Appearing in the dock, the defendant spoke only to confirm his identity during the sentencing and looked down with his head held in his head as the victim impact statements were read out.
Brown will be sentenced later on Tuesday.
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