01 March 2024 , 13:15
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A man who murdered three generations of his girlfriend's family as a “sacrifice” while high on drugs has been jailed for life.
Joshua Jacques left a “bloodbath” when he attacked Samantha Drummonds, her mother, her grandmother and her grandmother’s partner in their own home in Bermondsey, south east London, on April 25 last year. Armed officers discovered 29-yer-old Jacques naked and lying in the upstairs bathroom in a praying position, screaming “Allah, take me!”, “Kill me now”, “Get rid of me”, and “God please forgive me”.
Later, at Lewisham Hospital, he said: “I ain’t even in the wrong, I did them for sacrifice”, and also warned: “I will do something stupid again.” Police found the bodies of Samantha, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Dolet’s partner, Denton Burke, 58, after being alerted to a disturbance by a neighbour.
Jacques had admitted their manslaughter but denied murder on the basis that he was mentally unwell at the time. An Old Bailey jury deliberated for two hours to find Jacques, Lewisham, south-east London, guilty of four counts of murder. Today he was told he faces a minimum of 46 years behind bars.
Jaques' girlfriend Samantha Drummonds (PA)
Her mum Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo was also killed (PA)Jurors were told Jacques had 11 previous convictions for 20 offences, including for cannabis, being in possession of a silver knuckle duster, and robbery. In 2018, he was detained under the Mental Health Act after he was found praying in the middle of a busy road in Brixton, south London. Jurors were told that when he was first admitted the medics said he appeared to be suffering a drug-induced mania with psychotic features.
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Jacques was hospitalised from April 27 to around August 7 of that year. In February 2020 he was jailed for conspiracy to deal heroin and crack cocaine and for possessing cannabis for 51 months. He was released on November 11 2021. Jacques was described as chatty and engaged in his probation reports from April last year.
He called his probation officer saying he had been offered a job at a radio station just three days before the killing. However two days later, his girlfriend Samantha Drummonds told a friend that she thought Jacques was having an “episode” and had been “chatting all night and was fixated on topics”.
Her nan Dolet Hill and partner Denton Burke were killed (PA)Jacques had visited the house where Mr Burke and Ms Hill lived for only the second time on April 25, the night of the killings. Ms Ofori-Akuffo, also known as Racquel, sometimes stayed at the house so she could care for her mother, who had cancer, while Ms Drummonds had been living there while own flat was being renovated, jurors heard.
After Jacques began his murderous rampage, Ms Drummonds called his mother Norma Derrivere but she was unable to finish her sentence. In a FaceTime call between Jacques and his mother at around 2am, he said: “I’m ending it, I’m gonna make a sacrifice.” Neighbour Alice Canal called 999 at around 1.42am after she heard a cat screeching, a male voice swearing, movement, banging and what she believed was someone falling down stairs. Police called to the scene were reported to have found a 'bloodbath'.
In court it was claimed on Jacques's behalf that he had exhibited manic symptoms consistent with bipolar disorder. Just days before the killings he had doubled his skunk cannabis intake from the date of his birthday on April 19. The defence argued this escalation in his drug use came came weeks after he began having trouble sleeping which was a symptom of mania.
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