Jury find man guilty in Upper Holloway murder trial

A jury have convicted a man of murdering a reveller outside a party in a knife attack filmed on a witness’s iPhone.

Jeremiah Watson, 35, was jailed for at least 24 years this afternoon (Wednesday) for the fatal stabbing of Jonathan Brierley, 45, outside the Landseer Pub in Upper Holloway in the early hours of December 22.

Watson, of Kingsdown Road, Upper Holloway, had been kicked out of the venue in Landseer Road with the help of his victim after annoying other customers – and vowed to return to get his revenge.

After collecting a knife from his home he confronted Mr Brierley while another drinker filmed the killing on a mobile phone.

Watson admitted the attack but denied murder, claiming he was too drunk to remember his actions and that he did not intend to injure his victim.

But he was convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey and jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years.

Judge Richard Hone told him he had inflicted “plain distress and life-long suffering” on Mr Brierley’s family.

He continued: “You have ruined many lives.

“It is said your own life is ruined but frankly that is your own fault.

“You are alive – your innocent victim is dead.”

While Watson had no prior record for serious violence, the judge said his previous convictions for drink-driving and driving while disqualified showed a “determination to break the law”. The father-of-three also has a conviction for assaulting a previous partner.

In a statement on behalf of the victim’s family, Mr Brierley’s sister-in-law Karen said: “As a family we still haven’t accepted it’s real.

“We are in deep pain as it wasn’t Jonathan’s time to go.

“We miss him deeply and the effects on the family have been enormous and will affect us forever.”