BRUISED & BATTERED FOR A FIVER
Murderer robs frail widow in her own home
THIS is what a monstrous murderer did to a frail old lady after forcing his way into her home and subjecting her to a terrifying ordeal - all to get his hands on £5.
Her face bruised and cut and a look of fear in her eyes, this is the appalling state Lee Cockburn left 83-year-old Jean Young in.
Lowest of the low, Cockburn knocked on the pensioner’s door in Fenham, Newcastle, on a Wednesday morning and when she answered he barged past her into her home.
The powerfully-built coward put his hands over the widow’s face and glasses and demanded money while dragging her around the house.
Mrs Young either fell or was pushed to the ground and as she lay there screaming Cockburn threatened to tie her up.
The pensioner was saved by two brave neighbours who heard her screams and tackled the bully, who ended up fleeing upstairs and leaping out of a window then running away with her purse through the grounds of a school.
But in the commotion he left behind his hat, complete with his DNA.
Now the 40-year-old, who was convicted of a home raid murder in Benwell in 1997 along with another man and was out on life licence, has been branded dangerous and sent back to prison for seven years and eight months.
Judge Tim Gittins, at Newcastle Crown Court, told him: “She had lived there for more than 40 years and sadly was living alone having been very recently widowed after a marriage that lasted for something like 60 years.
“She was frail and vulnerable, short in stature and you were, as I can see, a large-built man.
“As she answered the knock on the door you forced her backwards into the property and put your hands over her face and spectacles.
“She must have feared the worst at that point.
“You were aggressively demanding money repeatedly and you took her by the shoulder and dragged her and pulled her round the ground floor looking for items to steal.
“Somehow she ended up on the floor, whether that was a fall or a push doesn’t really matter.
“While in that position you said you would tie her up if she was not forthcoming.
“She was understandably terrified, screaming.”
The court heard Mrs Young was at her home of 44 years, in Fenham, on the morning of January 4 this year.
Around 10.45 there was a knock at her door and Cockburn immediately launched his attack when she answered it.
After Mrs Young ended up on the floor she became disoriented and has little recollection of what happened next.
Prosecutor Paul Rowland said: “In fact a neighbour had seen the defendant entering her property and was suspicious of him.
“He armed himself with a bat and after trying to raise Mrs Young by knocking on her door and receiving no response, he became more alarmed and therefore sought the help of another neighbour. The neighbours, on approaching the house, saw through the window that Mrs Young was being pushed by the defendant.
“Therefore both defendants entered the house immediately and saw she was lying on her back on the floor and was screaming.”
Confronted by the two men, Cockburn tried to run past them and there was a struggle.
One of the men hit him to the kneecap with a hammer and he was initially subdued but then ran upstairs,
Mr Rowland said: “The neighbours thought he had nowhere to go but in fact he escaped through a bedroom window and ran through a school premises at the rear of the property.
“A hat was later found in the bedroom at the point the defendant exited and that was found to contain the DNA of the defendant.”
He had made off with the pensioner’s purse, which only contained a few coins worth £5 and a Morrisons card.
Mrs Young suffered bruising to her face, scratches to her cheek and was left very sore and in shock.
But the psychological impact has been much worse and more long-lasting than her physical injuries.
Mr Rowland said: “Steven Young, the son of the complainant explains the profound effect this incident has had on Mrs Young.
“It has completely changed her life.
“There was serious psychological harm.”
Judge Gittins told Cockburn: “It’s clear your actions that day have had a profound psychological effect on her.
“Given her age they are psychological scars such are likely to persist for some time.
“It affects how she acts every day and her personality has been qui-
etened from the otherwise outgoing sociable lady she was.”
Mrs Young also noticed furniture had been moved about in the bedroom Cockburn fled from and a radiator was damaged downstairs in the struggle with the neighbours.
Cockburn, of Violet Close, Benwell, was arrested three days later and initially denied responsibility but later pleaded guilty to robbery.
He was branded dangerous and jailed for seven years and eight months, of which he must serve at least two-thirds. He was also given an extended licence period of a further two years.
The court heard Cockburn, who has 39 previous convictions, had been released on life licence in 2010 after he was jailed for life in 1997 for murder.
Mr Rowland said: “He and another visited the home and forced entry to somebody who he thought had short-changed him in a drug deal. A single knife blow led to the death of the deceased in that particular case.”
The court heard Cockburn suffers an antisocial personality disorder and is bipolar. While it is not clear what triggered the robbery, there had been problems balancing his medication and he had resorted to “self medicating”.
Paul Reid, defending, said: “Nothing I say is intended to downplay the unpleasantness of this incident. It took a considerable amount of courage to plead guilty and accept he did this.
“His remarks were always to the effect he couldn’t have done something as unpleasant as this.”
Mr Reid added: “Something should be known about this man to mitigate remarks the press will make about him being a monster and so on. He has a good insight
Her personality has been quietened from the otherwise outgoing sociable lady she was
into his personality disorder, he is painfully shy, he has had a desperately sad life, it’s quite appalling. He describes himself as never having had any happy times in his life.
“On this day he had a low mood and his mind was full of suicidal thoughts. He has been on medication for the best part of his adult life.”
Mr Reid said that in the murder in 1997 Cockburn was forced to go with others to retrieve the drug debt. He added: “His girlfriend says he has lived a quiet life in the seven years they have been together and she is standing by him. She is a thoroughly decent young woman as is his mother. They are utterly distraught he behaved in this way.”
Mr Reid said Cockburn has recently had lumps removed from his chest, “almost inevitably” has cancer and will begin chemotherapy shortly. Cockburn, who appeared in court on a video-link to prison, wiped away tears when his barrister said that.
After the case, Chief Inspector Paul Knox praised officers in Northumbria Police’s central burglary team for their work in bringing Cockburn to justice.
He said: “This was a really nasty incident which has seen a cowardly thug target a vulnerable pensioner in her own home.
“He forced his way in and pushed her to the ground and thankfully the victim in the case was not seriously injured in any way. If neighbours had not intervened then this incident could have been worse but they were quick on the scene and forced him to flee. This man is clearly a danger to society and we are glad to see him off our streets where he cannot cause any more harm.”