Drug user found guilty of murdering Derbyshire man Andrew Jackson

A Derbyshire man has been found guilty of killing Andrew Jackson at the allotment where he lived.
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Leon Smith was found guilty of murder following an eight-week trial at Derby Crown Court.

The body of Mr Jackson, who was 55-years-old, was discovered on January 26 2020 at an allotment, off Prospect Drive in Shirebrook, where he lived in a caravan.

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Andrew Jackson.Andrew Jackson.
Andrew Jackson.
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During the trial, the jury heard how Mr Jackson suffered almost 40 separate injuries and was ultimately killed by a stab wound to his leg.

Detectives say Smith, 28, an amphetamine and cocaine user, was high on drugs at the time and had told a witness that evening that he “intended to kill someone.”

Smith, of Alder Way, Shirebrook, will be sentenced today.

Mr Jackson’s murder caused shock waves throughout the community and residents came together to organise a number of fundraising events to raise money for his funeral costs.

In a heartbreaking statement that they released shortly after his death, his family said that they had ‘joyful memories of being young kids playing together’.

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The statement added: “Andy was just one of those boys who liked to tinker around with electrics and engines. He was a very clever guy and could make something out of nothing,” they said.

“Around the Netherfield area where we grew up he had a lot of friends and if anybody wanted anything fixing, our Andy could do it. Sometimes some of the projects that Andy had been asked to build for people would amaze them.”