Two brothers found guilty of murdering Birkenhead woman Glenda Jackson

The 44-year-old victim was found lying in a blood-soaked communal hallway outside flats at Grayson Mews, in John Street, Birkenhead, on the morning of September 30 last year.

She had been stabbed to death just hours after telling police she had been attacked and suffered homophobic abuse.

Nicholas Curtis, 32, and his brother Stuart Curtis, who were staying in the same block of flats, both pleaded not guilty to murder but were unanimously convicted.

There were yells of ‘yes’ from the victim’s friends and supporters in the public gallery at Liverpool Crown Court when the verdicts were announced and some mouthed ’thanks’ to the jurors and wept.

The jury of nine women and three men were out for almost ten hours after first retiring on Thursday to begin their deliberations. Neither of the defendants showed emotion when the verdicts were returned.

Nicholas Curtis said he had acted self-defence after she stabbed him in the chest. 31-year-old Stuart denied involvement in any attack on her and simply found his brother outside bleeding from a chest wound.

Judge David Aubrey, QC, further remanded the brothers into custody to await sentence tomorrow. He told them, “The only sentence I can pass is a sentence of life imprisonment. I will have to consider, having made an assessment of all the facts of the case, what is the appropriate minimum sentence.”

The jury had heard during the four week trial how Ms Jackson was stabbed in the chest, thigh, and eye with her own knife, and had been punched and kicked in the head.

Her body was found in the hallway at 7.55am by a neighbour, around four hours after she was fatally wounded and less than six after she reported being assaulted by a group linked to the Curtis brothers.

The court heard injuries on Ms Jackson's scalp were consistent with footwear, suggesting she had been stamped on, while blood-stained clothing and the knife were found in Curtis' flat.

Gordon Cole, QC, prosecuting, told how both Ms Jackson and the two defendants had been out separately socialising in Birkenhead town centre on the night of the 29th into the following morning.

Nicholas and Stuart, who were out with friends Kelly Landers, James Lunt, Leslie Donnelly and Dionne Kane, returned shortly after 1.30am.

Mr Cole said Ms Jackson called the police at 1.44am, telling the 999 operator she had been subjected to homophobic abuse and then punched and kicked after she remonstrated her attackers

The jury also heard she told the call handler she was “going to stab them,” and that Landers could be heard on the phone telling “Nick” to “get out of the area”.

Police officers attended at 2am and found Ms Jackson with injuries to her face, saying she had been attacked by the occupants of flat 20 in Grayson Mews, where the defendants had been sleeping.

Mr Cole told the jury she appeared reluctant to give a statement and said she did not need an ambulance, but was recorded on body-cam stating that her attackers told her if she “dared do anything she would be killed”.

Mr Cole said after the police left the scene, around 2.36am, Ms Jackson “got angry”, armed herself with a knife and a hammer, and began damaging a white Mercedes Sprinter van parked outside, which belonged to Nicholas Curtis.

The court heard that, alerted by loud bangs, Nicholas Curtis bolted out of flat 20 barefoot, wearing his boxer shorts and a jumper, and went to investigate what he thought was his van being broken into.

At some point in the next few seconds, there was an altercation between Curtis and Ms Jackson which left her dying in the communal hallway.

At 3.21am, staff at Arrowe Park Hospital called the police to report that Nicholas Curtis had attended A&E with two stab wounds, accompanied by his brother Stuart.

Police interviewed Nicholas Curtis, who claimed he had been stabbed by an “unknown person” after he went to investigate the damage to his van, who had then “run off”.

Detective chief inspector Richie Jones said: “This is a tragic incident in which a much loved woman was sadly killed.

“Ms Jackson sustained multiple stab wounds as a result of the attack, which occurred following an earlier confrontation with a group including the Curtis brothers, during which she was assaulted and subjected to verbal homophobic abuse.

“Nicholas and Stuart Curtis continued to deny murdering Ms Jackson, despite compelling forensic evidence, meaning her family and friends were forced to go to court and endure a trial.

“I hope today’s convictions bring some closure to Glenda’s family and allow them to move forward, but also send out a clear message that violence such a this is not tolerated by Merseyside Police, nor the communities we serve.

“I would like to thank the investigation team and our partners at Cellmark Forensic Services and the Crown Prosecution Service for their support and assistance to secure this conviction.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to eradicate the use of knives on our streets and bring to justice anyone who think this type of behaviour towards other human beings is acceptable."