A drunk has been convicted of fatally attacking his own grandfather, a ‘world-renowned Jaguar restorer, moments after the pensioner was seen pleading for help on a security camera outside his home.
Jakob Walpole, 33, ‘set about’ 81-year-old John Brown in the grandfather’s bungalow after an all-day drinking session.
Volent Walpole then headed to a local working men’s club, where he was recorded smashing a glass over the back of the head of a patron within an hour of the attack on Mr Brown.
Walpole was today cleared of Mr Brown’s murder but convicted of an alternate charge of manslaughter following a four-week trial.
He was also convicted of the glassing attack on drinker Dennis Hopson at Bulkington Working Men’s Club in Warwickshire, a separate assault on a barman who frogmarched him from the premises following the incident and breaching a restraining order.
Walpole, who lived in the village in a property owned by Mr Brown and his ‘bedbound’ wife Dorothy, will be sentenced on Monday.
Jurors heard Mr Brown was well known in Bulkington for running the local Leaping Cats workshop repairing vintage cars, but had recently been diagnosed with dementia.
During the trial, jurors had been shown ‘haunting’ footage of Mr Brown pleading for help on a security camera outside his bungalow last November.
Jakob Walpole ‘set about’ his grandfather after an all-day drinking session, jurors were told
John Brown was described by his family as a ‘true craftsman, renowned worldwide for his expertise and passion for his work’
Mr Brown was seen waving at the camera in his garden – which was ‘linked to his daughter’, Walpole’s mother – before the pensioner went back inside the bungalow.
Michael Duck KC, prosecuting, said: ‘What’s plain is that he was gesturing to the camera.
‘The prosecution say he was aware his daughter may see and it was a gesture, a desire for assistance.’
Less than four minutes later, Walpole was seen emerging from the property and from there headed to a village pub.
He stayed at the hostelry for a matter of minutes before moving on to the working men’s club.
Police summoned to the Browns’ bungalow by their daughter found the pensioner ‘dazed and confused’ and with significant injuries to his face and arms.
Relatives then arrived at the house and his daughter accompanied him to hospital, but over the following hours Mr Brown suffered a bleed on the brain as a result of the blows he had suffered and he passed away six days later.
Warwick Crown Court heard Walpole was confronted by Mr Hopson in the working men’s club – where Mr Brown had been a regular – after boasting about ‘lamping’ his grandfather.
Walpole at the wheel of a vintage car, believed to be in his grandfather’s workhop
‘Belligerent’ Walpole continued to behave aggressively when he was arrested, the court heard
The ‘verbally abusive’ Walpole ‘ignored’ the older man’s pleas to moderate his language and eventually smashed the glass over the back fo Mr Hopson’s head after being asked to move from his seat.
The attack caused cuts to Mr Hopton’s ear, neck and head and Mr Duck told jurors: ‘There can be no suggestion (Walpole) was acting in self-defence or anything of that sort’.
A barman was then punched in the face as he escorted Walpole outside.
‘Belligerent’ Walpole was arrested for all three attacks later that night.
The court heard Walpole’s behaviour towards his family had deteriorated since the pandemic, to the extent that his mother, Lynda Brown, sought a restraining order banning him from a road leading to his grandparents’ home.
Mr Brown’s Leaping Cats workshop, where he developed a ‘world-renowned’ reputation
Mrs Brown also installed the motion-sensitive cameras at her parents’ home – which would provide crucial evidence around what went on at the address on the evening of the attack.
She told jurors that at around 8.42pm on the evening of the attack, she received a call from her father to say that Walpole was there, adding: ‘He was very hesitant as though he was scared to say any more.’
Due to previous threats being made by Walpole to his grandfather, she called 999 to report her concerns and arranged to visit the bungalow in a taxi with her partner.
Mrs Brown arrived to find the police already in attendance and her father in bed with a red mark on his left cheek.
Jurors were told Walpole was in the habit of visiting his grandparents while ‘in drink’.
Walpole was cleared of Mr Brown’s murder but convicted of an alternate count of manslaughter. He was also convicted of assault by beating, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and breaching a restraining order.
Following his death, Mr Brown was described as a ‘true craftsman’ and ‘a world-renowned figure in the Jaguar restoration industry’.
Natalie Kelly, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘Jakob Walpole carried out a senseless and brutal attack on his own grandfather who had tried to help him.’
She added: ‘Everyone who knew Mr Brown saw how much he did for his grandson, often going out of his way to care and support him – but Walpole simply took advantage of his kindness.
Detective Inspector Gareth Unett, who led the investigation for Warwickshire Police, said Walpole was guilty of ‘an act of cowardice and bruality’ on a ‘kind, gentle, hardworking man’.
He said Mr Brown was not only ‘loved greatly by all those around him, he was known internationally as one of the best restorers of classic Jaguars.
‘The legacy he leaves is not only in the love and generosity he showed to those around him, but also in the countless classic cars that will survive for generations more thanks to his work.’
