A killer's involvement in drug dealing has been pinpointed as the reason three burglars raided his house before one was stabbed to death.
Karl Townsend was jailed yesterday for 19 years after blinding former primary school friend Jordan Brophy in a savage knife attack before severing his jugular vein. The 32-year-old was cleared of murder by a jury, but was found guilty of manslaughter.
Mr Brophy was killed aged 31 on the evening of October 29 2021, his younger sister's birthday, after breaking into Townsend's home on Beechwood Avenue in Halewood. The occupant was alerted to the burglary by a Ring doorbell camera notification to his mobile phone and raced back to the scene armed with a kitchen knife before metering out the violence.
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He had maintained that nothing was stolen during the raid. But this was contradicted by his girlfriend's statement that they had "got everything, everything was gone".
Meanwhile, one of the burglars was seen leaving the property carrying a plastic bag he had not entered with. And the city's top judge Andrew Menary QC ruled during his sentencing remarks that Mr Brophy and associates had been after Townsend's stash of drugs in a "targeted smash and grab".
While the dad had admitted previous involvement in the supply of drugs, he maintained that he had ceased these activities some six weeks before the altercation - the last time messages found on his phone indicated as such. He suggested that the stolen goods could have been a small quantity of cannabis which was for personal use.
But the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool said: "This was plainly a targeted attack - a smash and grab where the burglars were not concerned about making a noise and plainly did not expect to be in the house for very long. I have no doubt that they were after your stash of controlled drugs, because I have no doubt that at that time your principal source of income was dealing in class A and B drugs.
"That much is obvious from the evidence, despite your pretence in evidence that you were only ever occasionally involved in selling drugs in small quantities. No other explanation makes any sense.
"The targeted nature of the burglary, the things said by a burglar before going in, the things said by your partner overheard on the 999 call and your denial that anything had been taken, the bag being carried by a burglar and the WhatsApp messages. Those messages give only a brief snapshot of your activity with only one customer, your half-brother.
"You plainly had multiple phones and refused access to the phone taken off you on arrest. What that means is this was not a home invasion with a terrified and unsuspecting householder.
"As soon as you saw these men on the camera, you knew exactly what they were after. What resulted is the sort of violent encounter which so often accompanies this type of criminal activity.
"You were provoked by Jordan Brophy's actions, but your response was not in any way justified."
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