Man jailed for life for murder of party-goer
05 September 2012
A man who stabbed to death a party-goer at an Archway pub has been jailed for life at the Old Bailey today, Wednesday 5 September.
Jeremiah Watson, 35 of Kingsdown Road, N19, was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 24 years after he was convicted of the murder of Jonathan Brierley following a trial.
"Watson has shown no remorse during this trial."
Mr Brierley, 45 of Staplehurst, Kent, died after being attacked by Watson shortly before 02:10hrs on Thursday 22 December 2011, at the Landseer Pub, Landseer Road, N19. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as a stab wound to the back.
Mr Brierley was attending a private birthday party at the venue before he was stabbed.
Watson had gatecrashed the party and was thrown out. He went home armed himself with a knife and returned to the venue.
Fellow guests were unaware that he was armed with but tried to prevent him from re- entering the pub. At the same time he stabbed Mr Brierley - who was an innocent bystander.
Mr Brierley was not involved in the previous altercation and did not know Watson. It is still unclear why he was targeted.
In statement, Jonathan's family said: "We would like thank the legal team and the officers investigating the case for their hard work in bringing Jeremiah Watson to justice.
"Jonathan will always be in hearts and today's sentencing has given us the strength to carry on with our lives."
The officer on the case Detective Inspector Mark Lawson, of the Homicide of Serious Crime Command, said: "This was a cowardly and senseless attack on an innocent man who had done absolutely nothing wrong to warrant this level of violence.
"I would like to thank all the witnesses who came forward and gave evidence and commend them for their bravery on the night.
"Watson has shown no remorse during this trial and shown a complete disregard for the victim and impact it has had on the family. We hope that today's sentence will bring them some comfort after everything they have had to go through."
- Jailed: Jeremiah Watson