Guilty Verdict in Joss Stone Murder Plot Trial
Two men have been found guilty of plotting to rob and murder British singer Joss Stone.
Britain's Exeter Crown Court handed down the verdicts Wednesday convicting Junior Bradshaw, 32, and Kevin Liverpool, 35, on charges of conspiracy to murder, to cause grievous bodily harm and to rob. Both men had denied the charges. Liverpool was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 10 years and eight months, while Bradshaw is to be sentenced later.
After the verdict, Stone thanked her fans for their support and kind wishes during the ordeal. "I am relieved the trial is now over and that these men are no longer in a position to cause harm to anyone," she said in a statement.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that the men were arrested in June 2011 near the Grammy Award winning singer's home in southwestern England after suspicious neighbors reported them to police. They were reportedly armed with a samurai sword, knives, a hammer, black bags and gloves.
VIDEO: Joss Stone Speaks Out on the Alleged Kidnapping Plot
Prosecutors said the plot included plans to decapitate Stone and dump her body in a river and that handwritten notes found where the men lived described Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Stone as "devils" and talked of "destroying the queen's system."