Man who murdered family jailed for at least 46 years

By Sonja Jessup & James W Kelly

BBC News

A man who murdered his girlfriend and three members of her family in south London has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 46 years.

Joshua Jacques, 29, killed Samantha Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, her grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill’s husband, Denton Burke, 68, in Bermondsey in April 2022.

The scene found by police was described as being like “a horror movie”.

There was a cry of “coldblooded murderer” as Jacques was sent down.

Addressing Jacques in the Old Bailey dock during sentencing, Mr Justice Bryan said the defendant’s offending had been contributed to by an increased daily intake of skunk cannabis, and that he was “well aware” of the impact on his mental health.

The judge told Jacques it was a “horrific catalogue of murders inflicted by you in the most brutal of circumstances on three generations of the same family”.

“It is a salutary lesson to all those who peddle the myth that cannabis is not a dangerous drug,” Mr Justice Bryan added as Jacques appeared emotionless.

The defendant had murdered his girlfriend and three members of her family at the home in Delaford Road for “no apparent reason”, he added.

The judge said the jury had heard Jacques had doubled his consumption of skunk cannabis in the days before the killings.

It was likely that Jacques had had a row with his girlfriend Samantha, which had triggered the killings that followed, the judge said.

“You and you alone bear responsibility for any such row, and for what occurred during your drug-induced psychosis,” Mr Justice Bryan told him.

He added that Jacques had expressed no remorse prior to the sentencing hearing, during which the defendant had had a statement read out on his behalf in which he apologised and said he was “disgusted” with himself.

The judge paid tribute to the victims’ family for their dignified manner during the trial, adding: “No sentence will ever be enough to reflect their loss.”

Following the hearing, Ms Hill’s daughter Tracey-Ann Henry told reporters outside the court that Jacques should have been handed a whole life order, meaning he would never be released from prison, but added: “Justice has been served.”

Chyloe Daley, Mr Burke’s niece, agreed, saying: “We’ll accept this for now but there is no bringing them back.”

Jacques, of Lewisham, was found guilty of four counts of murder in December. He had denied murder but admitted manslaughter.

Every morning, Tracey-Ann Henry, the daughter of 64-year-old victim Dolet Hill, awaits a phone call that never comes.

“I spoke to my mum every day,” she explains in the run-up to Jacques’ sentencing hearing. “Sometimes, four times in the day, even when I’m at work.”

Ms Henry said she realised something was wrong when she tried to call her mother as usual and she did not pick up.

Ms Hill had been recovering from cancer and had just completed her final radiotherapy treatment when she was murdered in the home she shared with her husband and fellow victim Denton Burke.

Another of her daughters, Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, also known as Racquel, sometimes stayed at Ms Hill’s home to help care for her. She was also killed by Joshua Jacques that day.

Granddaughter Samantha Drummonds, Jacques’ girlfriend who was another of his victims, had been living there too because her own flat was undergoing renovation.

Concerned that she could not get hold of her mother, Ms Henry rushed to the house but found it cordoned-off by police.

“I said, ‘I want to talk to my mum’,” she recalls. She said the police officer asked what number she lived at, and then went to check with a colleague. “He said, ‘oh, you need to sit in the car with me’.”

Growing increasingly worried on her way to the police station, Ms Henry said she had used her phone to check the news headlines, remembering saying: “Four people are dead, that’s mum, Racquel, Samantha and Denton.”

The shock was so great, Ms Henry can barely recall what happened next, although she does remember police wanting to ask her what she knew about a man called Joshua Jacques.

He had been arrested at the scene by armed officers, who found him naked in an upstairs bathroom, screaming “Allah, take me”, “kill me now”, and “God please forgive me”.

Later, at Lewisham Hospital, Jacques said: “I ain’t even in the wrong, I did them for sacrifice,” and warned: “I will do something stupid again.”

Ms Henry said she had only met Jacques once, a few days earlier. “He was like a normal person,” she said. “It’s not like he was acting strange or anything.”

Family members said it was difficult to listen to the evidence in court. “It felt like he had no remorse,” Asheka Jones, the niece of Mr Burke, says.

“Having mental health issues is one thing, but when you are abusing drugs, it’s just horrible. I’ve lost four family members who won’t come back.”

Ms Henry said she would remember her mum as a “loving, bubbly person. She loved to cook, you won’t come to the house and don’t get fed” she added.

Although she had been trying to think of the good memories they had shared, she said she found it difficult to look forward to the future.

“If I go on holiday, most of my holidays are with my mum, so, it’s really hard for me.”

“Things will never be the same, there will always be that empty hole,” Ms Jones agrees. “When I think of them, I think of this warmth they had, the humour. I feel like everyone was filled with such joy that can’t be replaced.”

With additional reporting from PA Media.

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