Joss Stone murder plot trial: 2 men convicted of conspiracy to murder
Two men were convicted Wednesday, April 3, on charges of conspiracy to murder, to cause grievous bodily harm and to rob in a plot to kill 25-year-old singer Joss Stone.
A British jury found Junior Bradshaw, 32, and Kevin Liverpool, 35, guilty of the charges at Exeter Crown Court, according to The Associated Press. The two men had denied the charges.
The wire service reports that while Liverpool was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 10 years and eight months, Bradshaw's sentence will be decided on at a later date.
"I am relieved the trial is now over and that these men are no longer in a position to cause harm to anyone," Stone said in a statement.
Bradshaw and Liverpool were arrested in June 2011 a few miles from Stone's home in southwestern England after suspicious neighbors reported them to the police. Police found numerous weapons inside their car including a samurai sword, a lock knife and a hammer.
Authorities also found handwritten notes in their car which indicated the two intended to "decapitate" Stone before dumping her body in a river.
Stone, who has sold over 11 million albums worldwide and is one of the United Kingdom's wealthiest contemporary artists, said in previous testimony that the apparent plot was a surprise, and that her security company had received no threats.
While the two men's motives are still unclear, according to the AP, other notes found in their car indicated that they disapproved of Stone being invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.