A dad who watched burglars raiding his family's house through a Ring doorbell camera rushed home and stabbed one to death, a court heard.
Karl Townsend and his half brother Jamie Cunningham allegedly armed themselves with knives after being alerted to a break in at his property in Halewood. Townsend is said to have shouted at three intruders to get out of his home, before stabbing Jordan Brophy in the face and head.
Prosecutors say one of those stabs through Mr Brophy's eye left a broken blade embedded in his brain. They allege Townsend and Cunningham left the scene but returned shortly afterwards, when Townsend then stabbed the 31-year-old in his jugular vein.
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Townsend, 32, and Cunningham, 23, who deny murder and possessing a bladed article, both went on trial today at Liverpool Crown Court. Richard Pratt, QC, prosecuting, said: "The prosecution case is that this was not a case of a householder in a state of fear and panic, reacting in a moment of terror to what he believed to be real danger. This was a brutal and ruthless killing, whether it be out of revenge or punishment, of a defenceless man."
The court heard Townsend lived in Beechwood Avenue with his partner Amelia Rigby and their child. On the evening of October 29 last year his girlfriend was out walking with their child and dog, while he was at his parents' house in nearby Penman Crescent, where Cunningham also lived.
Mr Pratt said Mr Brophy was "engaged in burglary" with others at Townsend's home. He said the property had a CCTV security system involving a Ring doorbell, meaning if there is an event, cameras are activated and the householder is notified via his or her mobile phone.
Townsend left his home at 6.26pm in his Mercedes GLA car. About five minutes later, three cars were seen travelling along Beechwood Avenue, which Mr Pratt said "appeared to be in convoy".
He said one or more of those cars was carrying Mr Brophy and "three unknown associates" to carry out "a determined and apparently targeted attack" at Townsend's house. He said having established the home was empty, three of them broke in through a side door, while the fourth waited in another Mercedes car parked nearby.
Mr Pratt said Townsend and Cunningham "hurriedly" made their way to the house after the doorbell camera alert went off and they had "armed themselves with large knives". He said: "As they entered, Karl Townsend can be heard to shout to the burglars to get out of his house or he'll do something to them with the knife he's carrying - the actual word is not clear, captured on an audio track to the CCTV footage.
"What actually happened inside the house is not captured by any camera. But 25 seconds after the two defendants enter into the property, the burglars were seen to emerge from the back door, and Jordan Brophy was complaining that he could not see, and he had some sort of injury to his face in the region of his eye.
"There was a reason he could not see. Karl Townsend had stabbed him twice to the face and head. The stabbing actions were so severe that they smashed their way through bone and cartilage and in one case severed the optic nerve and entered the brain. Such was the thrusting action that the knife broke not once but twice, leaving broken parts of the blade embedded in his skull and brain of Jordan Brophy."
Member of Mr Brophy's family cried in the public gallery as the prosecutor continued: "Now, I want to make it clear ladies and gentlemen that burglary is of course a despicable crime, and can cause misery to those who come back to find their homes have been violated. It must be even worse to find the perpetrators still in the house.
"But that cannot begin to justify this level of severe violence. But what is worse, is that even after he had stabbed Jordan Brophy with such force as to leave him with only the remnants of a broken knife in his hand, Karl Townsend had not finished."
The court heard he and his half brother went out of the front door and drove away, while Mr Brophy's associates went to retrieve their own car. Mr Pratt said Mr Brophy was still able to move and the other burglars tried to get him back into their vehicle, but he had become separated and was "apparently laying low and trying to hide" before he "saw a chance to break cover" and ran out onto the street.
Mr Pratt said "unhappily" for him, the car carrying Townsend and Cunningham returned within around a minute and crashed into a wall outside another house in the street. He said: "Jordan Brophy, badly injured and unarmed we say, separated from his associates, came face to face again with Karl Townsend.
"And Karl Townsend still had that broken knife in his possession. A neighbour saw 'Karl' as she heard him being called repeatedly punching a man who was pinned against a car parked on the opposite side of the road to her."
Mr Pratt said the prosecution alleged Townsend had a knife in his hand - the same knife he had earlier used to stab Mr Brophy - and what the neighbour thought were punches were stabs, one of which entered around 4.5cm deep into Mr Brophy's neck and his jugular vein, causing "catastrophic blood loss".
He said: "According to the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination, Jordan Brophy would have died in time from the brain injuries inflicted inside the house, but the one to the jugular vein killed him almost instantaneously."
Mr Pratt said it was the prosecution case that Townsend caused Mr Brophy's death, adding: "That much we understand is not in dispute." However, he said Cunningham "bears responsibility too".
The QC said having armed himself with a knife Cunningham went with his half brother to the house, left the home then returned after he knew Mr Brophy had been stabbed in the head, then remained outside with Townsend until they both left the scene. He said Mr Brophy's blood was later found on his clothing.
Mr Pratt alleged that Cunningham "plainly and intentionally assisted and encouraged" his half brother, intending that he would either kill Mr Brophy or cause him really serious harm.
(Proceeding)
