Joss Stone Death Plot Accomplice Sentenced to 18 Years

British court puts second man involved in the 2011 plot to kidnap and kill the British crooner behind bars for a very long time

By Josh Grossberg Jul 09, 2013 8:56 PMTags
Joss StoneBRITTA PEDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images

One of the men convicted of conspiring to kidnap and murder British soul singer Joss Stone has been sentenced in the U.K. to 18 years in prison.

Per the BBC, Junior Bradshaw of Manchester began serving his jail stint today after a judge at Exeter Crown Court declared that despite only having an IQ of just 65, the defendant was well aware of his intention to harm the 26-year-old Stone.

Bradshaw, 32, and his cohort Kevin Liverpool, 35, were convicted by a jury on April 3 of conspiring to kidnap, rob and murder the songstress and sometime actress by beheading her. However, the horrific plot thankfully was foiled and the men arrested in June 2011 not far from Stone's home in Devon after suspicious neighbors called police on them.

Bradshaw and Liverpool were subsequently found with a variety of weapons including a samurai sword, hammer and knives, as well as gloves and body bags. Prosecutors later cited at the trial several handwritten notes the duo stashed in their vehicle in which they revealed plans to dump her body in a river.

Liverpool was given life in prison with a minimum term of 10 years and eight months for his role while Bradshaw's sentencing was postponed pending the completion of psychiatric evaluations.

Doctors subsequently diagnosed the latter defendant as having schizophrenia and mental impairment, but concluded he did not need hospital treatment.

The BBC reported that the judge gave him the lesser term after noting that he was "a foot soldier" who was recruited into a scheme hatched by Liverpool, the reputed mastermind who manipulated him into taking part.

For her part, Stone testified at the men's trial that she had no idea that anybody was out to get her until they were in custody.

Reflecting on the murder plot in interview with a U.K. radio station a few weeks ago, the hitmaker expressed relief that she is "able to live [her] life" now and vowed to remain at Devon where she continues to do the majority of her writing and recording.

Stone's most recent release was The Soul Sessions Vol 2, which dropped in July 2012.