Jazwell Brown stabbed partner Jo Pearson 31 times before murdering neighbour in ‘frenzied’ drug-fuelled rampage – as chilling confession reveals he knew it was ‘plain murder’
A cocaine-fuelled killer who turned Christmas Day into a bloodbath by murdering two women and attempting to kill his own son has been jailed for life with a minimum of 39 years.
Jazwell Brown, 49, stabbed his partner Jo Pearson 31 times in their Milton Keynes flat before turning the knife on his 18-year-old son Jake, who heroically tried to save her.
The monster then took his weapons to the neighbouring flat where he murdered 24-year-old Teohna Grant and left her boyfriend Bradley Latter fighting for his life with more than 20 stab wounds to his neck alone.
In chilling police cell footage, Brown confessed: “Not self-defence. Murder. It’s plain murder.”
‘WATCHING A HORROR FILM’
Jake Brown told officers the attack on his stepmother was like “watching a horror film” as his father turned on them with a “completely expressionless” face.
The teenager had visited the couple’s flat on Christmas Day 2024, where Ms Pearson admitted she and Brown had been smoking crack cocaine.
When she became reluctant to use drugs in front of Jake, Brown “seemed to become suspicious” and sat quietly before launching his murderous rampage.
Without saying a word, he began to stab her with the knife repeatedly in a frenzied attack,” prosecutor Deanna Heer KC told Luton Crown Court.
Jake Brown tried to pull his father away from her, only for the defendant to turn to him and stab him in the chest.
NEIGHBOUR’S CHRISTMAS HORROR
After leaving Jake with a life-threatening chest wound, Brown crossed the communal landing to the unlocked flat where Ms Grant and Mr Latter were enjoying a quiet Christmas Day.
The court heard Brown entered with a “blank” face and began stabbing both victims multiple times.
He stared Mr Latter dead in the eyes and continued to stab him, without saying a word,” Ms Heer said.
A horrified witness saw Ms Grant stumble onto the balcony, clutching her throat and screaming “Help! Help! I’ve been stabbed!”
The young woman suffered five sharp force injuries, including a deep stab wound to the neck that proved fatal.
BLOODIED DOG IN DOORBELL FOOTAGE
In a sickening detail that shocked even hardened detectives, Brown also repeatedly stabbed Ms Pearson’s Staffordshire bull terrier, Tilly.
Disturbing doorbell camera footage showed the injured dog walking around covered in blood – though remarkably, Tilly survived the attack.
HIGH-SPEED ESCAPE
After the carnage, Brown fled in his car, driving at up to 50mph without lights and almost hitting police officers who tried to stop him.
When armed police finally brought him to a halt, officers described him as “spaced out” with blood on his hands.
A bloodstained knife was found on the passenger seat with Brown’s fingerprint in blood, while his trainers bore spots of his victims’ blood.
‘PURE F**** MADNESS’**
In his police cell, Brown made a series of damning admissions, saying: “Oh Jesus, what happened tonight? What happened tonight, boy? Pure f****** madness. Pure madness.”
“I’ve gone f****** crazy guys. Just gone crazy,” he continued, later adding: “I’ve gone bloody looney.”
Most chillingly, he admitted: “Not self-defence. Murder. It’s plain murder, not self-defence.”
FAMILIES’ AGONY
Susan Pearson, Jo’s devastated mother, told the court: “We can only imagine how horrific her final moments were at the hands of Jazwell Brown.
“Our own wellbeing has also been seriously compromised. Our faith in humanity has been seriously rocked. We don’t think we will ever understand.”
Ms Grant’s family said: “Teohna deserved more time to live and deserved the chance to experience the good things life still had to offer her. The world is a darker place without Teohna’s beautiful smile.”
‘INDESCRIBABLE’ SCENES
Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Brangwin said emergency services faced “indescribable” scenes that Christmas evening.
The events that unfolded on that day were truly horrific and tragic. We may never know what prompted Brown to behave the way he did,” he said.
“What remains even more incomprehensible is why Brown then left his home and tried the front door of a nearby flat, taking the knife and baseball bat with him.”
VIOLENT PAST
The court heard Brown had 10 previous convictions for 15 offences, including battery against a former partner in 2009.
Neighbours described the couple’s relationship as “unhealthy,” with both taking Class A drugs and regularly heard arguing.
CONCURRENT SENTENCES
Brown pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, possession of a knife in a public place and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Beyond the life terms for murdering Ms Pearson and Ms Grant, he received:
- 18 years for attempting to murder his son Jake
- 21 years for attempting to murder Mr Latter
- 9 months for attacking the dog
- 18 months for possession of a knife
Judge sentenced all terms to run concurrently with the murder sentences.
As Brown held his head in his hands in the dock, families of his victims heard how their loved ones’ final moments were spent in terror at the hands of a man who himself admitted he had “gone crazy” on crack cocaine.
The surviving victims now face a lifetime of trauma from what police described as one of the most horrific crime scenes officers had ever encountered.
