Drug user found guilty of murdering Shirebrook man Andrew Jackson
and live on Freeview channel 276
Leon Smith was found guilty of murder following an eight-week trial which took place at Derby Crown Court.
The body of Mr Jackson, who was 55 years old, was discovered on January 26 2020 at an allotment, off Prospect Drive, Shirebrook, where he lived in a caravan.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdDuring the trial, the jury heard how Mr Jackson suffered almost 40 separate injuries and was ultimately killed by a stab wound to his leg.
Detectives say Smith, aged 28, an amphetamine and cocaine user, was high on drugs at the time and had told a witness that evening he ‘intended to kill someone’.
Smith, of Alder Way, Shirebrook, will be sentenced today.
Mr Jackson’s murder caused shock waves throughout the community and residents came together to organise a number of fundraising events to raise money for his funeral costs.
In a heartbreaking statement released shortly after Mr Jackson’s death, his family said they had ‘joyful memories of being young kids playing together’.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe statement said: “Andy was just one of those boys who liked to tinker around with electrics and engines. He was a very clever guy and could make something out of nothing.
“Around the Netherfield area where we grew up he had a lot of friends and if anybody wanted anything fixing, our Andy could do it.
“Sometimes some of the projects that Andy had been asked to build for people would amaze them.”