A mum explained how her world was torn apart after her son with stabbed to death on his sister's birthday.
Jordan Brophy was stabbed to death by former classmate, Karl Townsend, after he broke into his home. 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.
Townsend then stabbed Mr Brophy, 31, in his head, face, and arms and wielded the knife "with such force" that it snapped, with a portion of the knife remaining lodged in his brain. An ultimately fatal blow severed his jugular vein, causing "immediate and catastrophic blood loss".
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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.
During the retrial a jury of six men and six woman acquitted Townsend of murder after 10 hours and two minutes of deliberations. He was jailed for 19 years for manslaughter.
Mr Brophy's devastated mum, Lisa Ward, said how her world was torn apart when her son was stabbed on his sister's birthday.
She told the court: "These two (Townsend and Cunningham) cruelly took him (Mr Brophy) from me. It will never be a happy birthday for little Daisy. All I have are the memories and photographs. He had his life ahead of him.
“He never had the chance to get married or become a dad. We have been torn apart. How an earth do you explain to an eight and three-year-old that Uncle Jord has been stabbed to death?
“How do you ever put into words the loss of a child? It is never in God’s plan for a mother to lose her child. Never will I ever live like I did. Some days, I barely exist. Simple things like brushing my teeth are impossible.
“Waking up and seeing a blue sky is like waking up in a nightmare, because no-one loved the sun more than Jord. Jordan had a beautiful home and lived with the love of his life. He adored her.
“I am a shadow of the mum I was once. Never will it be fixed. Never will I forget the face of the policeman who told me he was gone. Never will I forget the words of the doctor who told me he did his best to save him.
“Those words will never leave my mind. My boy never deserved to die. It’s torture. Each day is just getting worse, the pain is unbearable.
“Some days I wonder if it’s worth carrying on. I hope and pray every night that I get justice for him, justice that he deserves.
“Nothing will ever bring my boy back, but to know he (Townsend) is removed from society and can never hurt anyone else one day I might have peace.”
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