Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Adam Everett & Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Dad who killed burglar after spotting break in through Ring doorbell cleared of murder


A man who stabbed a burglar to death has been cleared of his murder.

Jordan Brophy died when he was attacked after two shards of a broken blade were left lodged in his skull.

Karl Townsend was cleared of his murder by a jury of six men and six women, the Liverpool Echo reports.

However, he was convicted of manslaughter by a majority of 10 to two.

Mr Brophy, 31, died as a result of his injuries following the incident in Halewood, Merseyside, in October last year.

DON'T MISS:

Mum with 11 boys is 'immune' to birth control and pregnant with 13th baby

One-legged man in care home, 93, with knife dies after being Tasered by police

Drivers astonished by genuine use of button found in every car - and it will save money

The trial previously heard Townsend had left his home on Beechwood Avenue for his mum's house on nearby Penmann Crescent in his Mercedes GLA on October 29 2021.

Jordan Brophy, 31, was fatally stabbed in Halewood as he tried to break into a house (Liverpool Echo)

The property was left empty at that time, with Townsend's girlfriend Amelia Rigby having been walking the dog with the couple's three-year-old child.

Within minutes, Mr Brophy arrived in a Mercedes A-Class in a convoy of three vehicles. He and two other accomplices then smashed through a rear door in order to gain entry as a getaway driver lay in wait.

Townsend became aware of the burglary after his Ring doorbell sent a notification to his phone, and he and his 23-year-old half-brother Jamie Cunningham "hurriedly made their way to the scene" armed with knives.

Police Scientific Support on Beechwood Avenue, Halewood after Brophy was stabbed (Liverpool Echo)

Mr Brophy suffered "multiple stab wounds" inside, some of which "would almost certainly have proved fatal on their own".

He was knifed in the outer edge of his left eye, with the weapon severing his right optic nerve and piercing the skull on both sides. The blade was "wielded with such force" that it snapped, with a portion of the knife remaining lodged in his brain.

Mr Brophy was then stabbed again "a number of times" before another blow entered just above the right eyebrow, leaving a further section of the knife behind.

Townsend is then said to have "attempted to run him over in a car", but missed and crashed into a garden wall.

Brophy and three others broke into Townsend's family home (Liverpool Echo)

The prosecution say the burglar was then pinned against a Fiat 500 and stabbed in the neck three times with the "remnant" of the same knife. An ultimately fatal blow severed his jugular vein, causing "immediate and catastrophic blood loss".

Cunningham, of Penmann Crescent, had previously been on trial accused of possession of a bladed article but later admitted this charge.

He was cleared of murder during an earlier trial, during which the jury failed to reach a verdict regarding the same charge on Townsend.

Both are due to appear back before the court for sentence tomorrow afternoon, Friday.

READ MORE:    Killer Ian Huntley caught out after eagle-eyed reader spots detail in old newspaper
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.