Man Jailed for Vicious Acton Green Assault
Dylan Beecroft attacked woman with lump of concrete
Police on the scene in the aftermath of the attack. Picture: @Simonmacmichael
A 31-year-old man has been jailed for ten years after attacking a woman in Chiswick earlier this year.
On the evening of 9 March, Dylan Beecroft bludgeoned 44-year-old Clarissa Brookes with a large lump of concrete after she had refused to vacate the toilet block on Acton Green Common when he insisted she do so.
Beecroft, who had undiagnosed mental health issues, battered the door of the cubicle. He had been sleeping rough and the facility at the north end of the park near the junction of South Parade and Acton Lane was one he regularly used.
The woman remained inside until he stopped banging on the cubicle but, when she opened the door, he forced his way inside attacking her with the concrete in an assault which lasted seven minutes.
Passers-by, including people walking their dogs, heard the commotion from within the cubicle and managed to force the door open at which point the victim emerged covered in blood saying ‘help me’.
Beecroft followed her out carrying the rock and did not attempt to leave the scene waiting impassively for the arrival of the police. As he was arrested he asked the officer, “How long will I get?”
Clarissa Brookes was taken to hospital with a fractured skull and her injuries were found to be non-life threatening although the psychological trauma is likely to endure.
Beecroft was homeless and had been sleeping rough in the area for some time. He had a criminal record for minor offences such as shop-lifting and a history of cannabis and alcohol misuse.
During the trial at the Old Bailey it emerged that he was a triplet and that one of his siblings had taken his own life and the other was in a secure mental health unit.
He was sentenced to jail for ten and a half years of which he must serve at least two-thirds and an extra four years on licence at the end of the jail term.
Judge Anne Molyneux, who presided over the case, praised the heroism of the people who intervened to stop the attack.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
September 11, 2021