Retrial for Boston Manor Man Accused of Attempted Murder

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Jury fails to reach verdict on Mark Brazant who stabbed woman in face

Josephine Conlon

A judge at the Old Bailey has directed that a retrial should be held in the case of Mark Brazant who was accused of attempted murder.

He had denied the charge while admitting the attack but a jury failed to agree on a verdict so the case is to be retried early next year.

The 44-year-old man from Windmill Road had stabbed a 36-year-old woman repeatedly in the face as she was pushing her child in a pushchair in South London. The accused was receiving treatment for mental health issues at the time of the attack on 30 December 2019.

Josephine Conlon had been walking along a residential street in Streatham at about 5.30pm when she was attacked by a man who was completely unknown to her.

When police arrived at the scene on Downton Avenue they found Mrs Conlon with wounds to her face and neck. A witness described how she screamed ‘I have been stabbed’ after the attack.

Mr Brazant was charged on Thursday, 2 January with attempted murder, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a pointed/bladed article after handing himself in to the police. He told the officer booking him in that he wanted to apologise to Mrs Conlon. He had been released from prison on Christmas Eve after serving a sentence for battery and common assault.

Mrs Conlon, who attended Durham and Kingston universities, was married in 2016 and had previously worked for a communications agency. She received seven stab wounds and was discharged from hospital the day following the attack but is still receiving treatment for the wounds sustained during the attack.

July 28, 2020