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Louis Simpson murder trial: Man who knifed drug dealer through heart found guilty

A man who knifed a drug dealer through the heart has been found guilty of murder.

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Dylan Jackson, from Crosby Close, Whitmore Reans, will face a lengthy prison sentence after a majority verdict ruled that he murdered Herman 'Louis' Simpson at his flat in Compton Road on April 13 of this year in a botched fake drug deal.

Jackson had gone to Mr Simpson's ? a former music teacher - flat in a pre-arranged drugs deal for heroin worth £3,000. The 'heroin' was in fact ash disguised as the Class A drug.

When Mr Simpson questioned the drugs package, Jackson took £2,500 from him and told him he was robbing him. As Mr Simpson got out of his chair, Jackson lunged at him and stabbed him several times.

Mr Simpson, 46, was pronounced dead shortly after paramedics arrived at the flat, and Jackson went on the run for two weeks before his arrest in Bath, Somerset on April 29.

A post mortem revealed Mr Simpson had died from a stab wound to his back.

Jackson who had claimed that he acted in self-defence, asked Judge Simon Picken: "How could they find me guilty when he pulled a gun on me?", before he was taken down.

Following the trial at Nottingham Crown Court where it took the jury 13 and a half hours to reach their verdict, the unemployed 20-year-old, will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court at a later date. He faces a mandatory life sentence with a minimum number of years to be set by the judge.

Mr Simpson's mother, Sylvia Simpson MBE, paid tribute to her son: "Louis was a much-loved son, brother and father whose death has already left a huge void in many lives. The outpouring of grief and kind words said by the community after his death, showed what a kind, generous and loving person he was and the turnout at his funeral reinforced this view.

"Since Louis' murder, we have been made aware of the life Louis led and that it was not what we thought. Obviously, this came as a huge shock to all of us and we are disappointed that we were not given the opportunity to help him.

"We have nothing but positive memories of him as a loving brother, father and caring son."

Investigating the murder, Detective Inspector Warren Hines said: "I am satisfied that the jury rejected Jackson's assertion in court that he acted in self-defence when confronted by Louis after he realised that he was being ripped off.

"My view is that this murder was motivated solely by Jackson's greed; he was determined to make off with a large sum of money at any cost. Louis had a history of drug dependency which made him vulnerable to the actions of a determined criminal such as Jackson.

"Whatever the background to this case, Louis leaves behind a family who are absolutely distraught at his death and my abiding hope is that the guilty verdict will allow them to begin the slow process of recovering from their sad loss."

Mr Simpson's father, Earl Simpson, aged 68 from Bilston, added: "The only thing I can say is that I hope his sentence is an example to young people.

"If you try and take from someone else and take what isn't yours there can be consequences.

"If you get involved in this kind of thing it will only lead to destruction.

"It's been heartbreaking for us to deal with it but you've got to live with it."

Tony Simpson, brother of the victim, added: "We're obviously glad it's over."

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