Lewisham man Joshua Jacques 'murdered four people in bloodbath attack'

Joshua Jacques, 29, of Minard Road in Lewisham, is on trial accused of killing his 27-year-old partner Samantha Drummonds and three other members of her family - her mum 45-year-old Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, her grandmother 64-year-old Dolet Hill and Ms Hill’s partner, 48-year-old Denton Burke. 

Jacques left a “bloodbath in his wake” at Ms Hill’s terraced home on Delaford Road in Bermondsey in the early hours of the morning of April 25 last year. 

When police arrived they found Mr Burke’s body at the bottom of the stairs and the three women in the kitchen – all four were pronounced dead at the scene. 

Jacques has pleaded guilty to their manslaughters but denies murdering them. 

Dolent Hill, 64, and Denton Burke, 58 (Image: Met Police)On Monday (December 4) prosecutor Tom Little KC told Old Bailey jurors: “This case involves not one death, not two deaths, and not even three deaths but four violent and brutal deaths at the hands of this defendant. 

“All of those deaths occurred during the same incident on the night on the night of Sunday April 24 into Monday April 25 last year. 

“In killing four people the prosecution say that the defendant murdered three generations of one family. 

“There is no dispute or issue other than that it was the defendant that killed all four of the victims and that he did so by attacking them. 

“He did so by stabbing them, cutting them and slashing them. 

“What you will have to decide is why he did so and what his state of mind was at the time. 

“The prosecution case is that this is a clear case of murder or more accurately a clear case of quadruple murder. 

“We say that the defendant killed his victims with murderous intent, and there’s no dispute about that, and that when he did so his ability to form a rational judgment and to exercise self-control were not substantially impaired by any psychiatric condition and indeed that his conduct on that night was brought about by self-induced intoxication, taking drugs and drinking alcohol. 

“This, we say, led to a transient psychotic disorder not meeting the requirements for the defendant to make out a partial defence of diminished responsibility.” 

Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45 (Image: Met Police)This was the second time Jacques had visited the house where Mr Burke and Ms Hill lived, the court heard. 

Ms Ofori-Akuffo sometimes stayed at the property to care for her mother who was receiving treatment for cancer, while Ms Drummonds had been living there as her own flat was undergoing renovation. 

In the days before the attack, Ms Drummonds told her best friend she believed Jacques was having an “episode” and had been “chatting all night and was fixated on topics”. 

Samantha Drummonds, 27 (Image: Met Police)

In a voice message sent to Ms Omosuyi on April 24 2022, she said: “Literally like this weekend has just been a myth, like basically in a nutshell Josh is basically getting to the point where he could basically have an episode, like I don’t know what’s triggered him. 

“It’s just a myth innit obviously tomorrow is Monday and obviously doctors are gonna get. He just needs to get his medication innit.” 

The trial continues.