Joss Stone has opened up about how being at the centre of a murder plot changed her attitudes towards personal safety.
In 2013, two men were found guilty of conspiracy to rob and murder the soul singer at her Devon home. Kevin Liverpool was initially jailed for life, with his accomplice Junior Bradshaw sentenced to 18 years behind bars, but both men had their sentences cut.
In a new interview, Stone admitted that, while she now lives in Nashville and not in the UK, she was far more “safety conscious” after the attempted attack.
“What happened to me in 2011 has made me lock my doors and have an alarm system, whereas I didn’t before,” Stone told The Sunday Times.
“[Partner Cody DaLuz] is so mellow – he says, ‘Oh, we don’t need to worry about that,’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, you know, people do sometimes try to kill you.’ Then he says, ‘Oh yeah, that small thing.’
She continued: “That’s not a positive thought, so it does make you safety conscious. Although that’s another blessing, isn’t it? Because I wasn’t before and now I am.
“But out in Nashville I know those men are not here, so I feel so much safer. Cody worked in security, so he’s the best person to have around.”
In 2011, the two men plotted to rob Stone’s remote Devon home of £1 million they believed she had in a safe, then kill her and dump her body in a river.
Liverpool and Bradshaw drove from Manchester to Devon in a car containing weapons such as a samurai sword, hammers and a chisel.
Police stopped the pair after neighbours reported that they had been acting suspiciously.
A year after they were jailed, both men’s prison sentences were reduced. Liverpool’s minimum term was cut from 10 years and eight months to six-and-a-half years. Bradshaw’s sentence was reduced from 18 to 10 years.
