Woman murdered disabled neighbour over £60 debt

Brenda Heslop admitted murder and will be sentenced at a future date

A woman murdered a disabled neighbour over a £60 debt hours after telling police she would stab him, a court has heard.

Brenda Helsop, 63, lay in wait for John Hardy, 68, outside his home in Elswick, Newcastle, before knifing him through the chest, the city's crown court heard.

Mr Hardy's family said he was "loving, kind and caring" and would "never harm anyone".

Heslop, who had a history of severe mental health issues and had regularly loaned Mr Hardy money to fund his gambling addiction, admitted murder and will be sentenced on a future date.

Mr Hardy, who was described by his family as having "long term physical disabilities", was attacked as he returned to his home on Sceptre Place at about 18:20 GMT on 11 November 2024, prosecutor Sharon Beattie KC said.

He was well known in the area having lived there most of his life, the court heard, and was treated with "kindness" by his neighbours.

John Hardy's family said he was kind and loving and never harmed anybody

Mr Hardy would regularly borrow small amounts of money from people, including Heslop who lived nearby, to pay for gambling, Ms Beattie said.

"John Hardy did not pose a threat to anyone," the prosecutor said, adding people may have been "irritated" by his requests for money but he was "not viewed as a troublemaker" and would often lend money to others himself.

Heslop, who had a history of mental health conditions including paranoid schizophrenia, was physically stronger than Mr Hardy and in the latest loan had given him £40 on the basis he would pay her back £60, Ms Beattie said.

In the early hours of 11 November Heslop, who also had a history of making false and "delusional" reports about other people including Mr Hardy, phoned police to say he was pestering her, the court heard.

In the call, Heslop called him an "old friend" and a "parasite", and told police she "had plans" and was "going to end up stabbing" Mr Hardy "because he's getting right on my nerves", Ms Beattie said.

An officer went to see her at 09:00 with Heslop becoming "unhappy" when he told her he could not arrest Mr Hardy as she was demanding, the court heard.

The officer agreed to warn Mr Hardy but was unable to locate him, the court heard.

'Just a few jabs'

At about 18:00 Heslop armed herself with a kitchen knife and went to Mr Hardy's home, banging loudly on the door and shouting for him, but he was out withdrawing £50 for a friend from a nearby supermarket, the court heard.

When he returned home, Heslop confronted him outside and repeatedly shouted for money before stabbing him twice in the chest and once in the hand, the court heard.

She took the £50 and left saying "that's just the tip of the iceberg", with Mr Hardy coughing, groaning and saying she had stabbed him, the court heard.

Mr Hardy got to a friend's house where he started coughing up blood, telling them he had been attacked and was going to die, Ms Beattie said.

Despite their efforts and those of paramedics, Mr Hardy was pronounced dead on his way to hospital a short while later.

One of the stab wounds had penetrated his chest and lung, Ms Beattie said.

Heslop was arrested at her home a couple of hours later, telling officers "I'm sorry for what's happened but nobody would help [me]", then saying "oh he's never died has he", the court heard.

She later told police she "didn't mean to kill" and "only gave him a few jabs just to scare him off", the court heard.

'Stalked like a predator'

In a statement read to the court, Mr Hardy's family said they had been devastated and traumatised by his "heinous" death.

They said they missed his "lovely smile, cheeky grin and happy demeanour" and he was "loving, kind and caring person who never harmed anyone".

"If you were his friend you were a friend for life," they said, adding they were "better people" for having him in their lives.

The fact he was killed by a neighbour was particularly shocking as Mr Hardy felt "happy and safe" in his community, the court heard, and he also "abhorred" knife crime.

Mr Hardy's family said Heslop "stalked him like a predator" and "lay in wait hiding in the shadows waiting to pounce" before stabbing him in a "premeditated act of murder".

In mitigation, Peter Makepeace KC said there was no suggestion Mr Hardy was anything other than a "perfectly good and decent member of the community" and there could never be any justification for Heslop's actions.

But, he added, her mental illness, which prosecutors said was "stable" at the time, was a key factor in her thinking and "wrongly perceived harassment" that was the real motive of the attack.