A Jamaican pensioner has admitted to manslaughter after fatally stabbing his elderly Bajan neighbour, who was the uncle of BBC TV Repair Shop star Jay Blades, following a prolonged dispute about their shared alleyway.
Mr Blades, 55, known for hosting the BBC show The Repair Shop, revealed his beloved uncle had been killed in an Instagram post.
Jamaican Derrick Brown, 74, attacked his neighbour, 73-year-old Barbadian Richard Brathwaite and his wife, Annetta Brathwaite, 71, with a large kitchen knife on Cromwell Road, Wembley, Middlesex, on 21st March 2024.
Brown admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility when he appeared at London’s Southwark Crown Court on 9th Feb. He had earlier denied murder, and that charge was ordered to lie on the file after the prosecution accepted his plea.
He also denied wounding Mrs Braithwaite with intent but admitted the lesser count of unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article.
Judge Anupama Thompson ordered further psychiatric reports to be prepared and remanded Brown in custody ahead of sentencing.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC, earlier said: ‘The incident appears to have arisen out of a long-running neighbour dispute between the defendant and the deceased, whereby the defendant believed the deceased was continually leaving items in a shared alleyway.
Richard Braithwaite was an Electrician by trade and a former pupil of the Federal High School in Barbados
On 21st March 2024, Annetta Brathwaite called the police and said her neighbour attacked her with a knife, and her husband had been stabbed. When police arrived, the defendant wasn’t there, and they found the deceased bleeding from a stab wound. Although they tried emergency first aid, the efforts were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead.
Ms Heer added: ‘Some CCTV and ring doorbell footage shows parts of the attack, in particular, the defendant chasing the deceased, screaming for help, and shouting murder, and the defendant apparently punching the deceased’s wife while holding the knife and causing lacerations to the head and face.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC, said: ‘Another neighbour went out to find the defendant on the street with a knife, saying, “I’ve had enough, they’re not listening, they need to move their things, I’m going to kill them”.’
Brown, who is said to be suffering from early onset dementia, admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility today at Southwark Crown Court.
After the attack, Brown texted his wife, ‘I’ve stabbed Richard, I’ve just had enough of them,’ and she told him to go to the police station, where he was arrested.
While in the police station, Brown said he knew he had pulled a knife on a man and that he had ‘enough and had put up with 25 years of it’. Referring to the issues regarding the shared alleyway between the two properties
Blood was found on his clothing and trainers, while a blood-stained knife was found in his kitchen sink.
Brown had earlier denied murder and wounding Mrs Brathwaite with intent, but admitted unlawful wounding, as well as possession of a knife.
Judge Anupama Thompson ordered further psychiatric reports on Brown, who will remain in custody ahead of sentencing on 18th March 2026
