Man guilty of murdering “defenceless” pensioner

Photo: Ian Britton

A 27-year-old man has been found guilty of stabbing a “defenceless” pensioner to death at his home in Lewisham.

Andrew Monk, 27, from Horn Park in Greenwich, was convicted of the murder of James Land, 79, at the Old Bailey today, where he will be sentenced on March 12.

Mr Land was attacked as he sat in his armchair in his home in Whitefoot Terrace on May 10 last year. There were no signs that the widower, who had suffered a stroke four years ago leaving him with poor mobility, had resisted the attack.

Police were called by a member of the public and the pensioner was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been punched in the face and stabbed 11 times.

After the attack, Monk went to Beckenham Place Park to get rid of his bloodstained clothes and the murder weapon.

Monk confessed to the murder when police arrested him. He has never said why he killed Mr Land, but during the trial he said the victim provoked him.

Following the verdict, Detective Inspector Graeme Gwyn, from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: “Andrew Monk tried to claim he was provoked by James Land, an elderly man who had difficulty walking around due to two previous strokes, into the extreme violence he used to kill him.

“There has never been any evidence to support this claim. 

He went to James Land’s house armed with a knife and killed him as he sat in his living room – a place where he should have felt and should have been safe.

“I am very pleased that the jury has returned a guilty verdict and that Monk will now face justice for the dreadful crime that he committed against a defenceless old man.

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