A man has been convicted of murdering his friend after an argument over being woken up.
Robert Crabtree, 33, murdered Jimmy Moore, 33 after Mr Moore woke Crabtree up when trying to pick up Crabtree’s brother for work.
Mr Moore arrived at the Nazeing address of Robert Crabtree on the morning of, September 25 and threw stones at the window of the bedroom he believed Crabtree’s brother was sleeping in.
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However, Crabtree’s brother was not at home, instead it was Crabtree who was asleep in that room.
Having been woken up, Crabtree shouted out of the window to Jimmy and the pair got into an argument.
Crabtree went downstairs and, armed with a knife, confronted Mr Moore and proceeded to stab him several times, continuing to stab him after he fell to the floor.
Mr Moore staggered back to his car, and drove down the road, collapsing at the wheel.
When police arrived, they found him in his car and he died at the scene.
Detective Superintendent Scott Egerton, who led the investigation, said: “Perhaps what is most galling is that the dispute over which Jimmy Moore lost his life was so innocuous.
“It is utterly heart-breaking that Jimmy has lost his life over waking someone up.”
In his first interview Crabtree told Essex Police that he had been acting in self defence and only went back into his house to grab the knife after being assaulted by Mr Moore.
Crabtree’s brother claimed Jimmy had picked up mole grips and had threatened Crabtree with them, but CCTV footage which covered much of the incident did not show Jimmy with anything in his hands when the attack took place.
Crabtree was charged with murder and despite claiming self-defence, was convicted today (August 8) following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Crabtree’s brother, Ryan Crabtree, 30, of no fixed address, was found to have tried to help his brother clean up the blood from the driveway.
He also turned off their CCTV following the incident. He was convicted of perverting the course of justice.
They will be sentenced at the same court on September 9.
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