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Crime Desk
A man who stabbed his ex-wife 20 times has today been convicted of her murder at the Old Bailey. Nathaniel Brown, 27 (21.07.84), of no fixed address, was found guilty of killing mother-of-two Zandra Maxwell-Nelson.
He will be sentenced on Friday 3 February.
Police were called at about 18:10hrs on 20 April 2024 to reports of a woman stabbed in Durban Road, N17.
Zandra, 24, of Nicoll Road, NW10, was taken by ambulance to the Royal London Hospital where she died at 20:32hrs.
She had been attacked in the street before entering a parked car to try to escape the suspect - but she was stabbed further in the vehicle.
An incident room opened at the Homicide and Serious Crime Command.
Detective Sergeant Ash Hornsby, said today: "At the time of her death Zandra was 24-years old, a mother with two young sons aged two and one. She was nearing the end of a three-year university degree course in creative advertising and video production and worked part-time in order to support her family. To those who knew her she was 'happy-go-lucky, loving and caring, with a bubbly and infectious personality'.
"On 20 April 2024 Zandra’s ex-husband, Nathaniel Brown, changed all that. He took Zandra’s life in an unprovoked brutal knife attack in which he stabbed her 20 times. The attack was carried out in the street in broad daylight in front of their two young children and members of the public. Zandra and the boys had just returned from an afternoon barbecue in a local park.
"Brown has never explained his actions that day, instead seeking to rely on the defences of diminished responsibility and loss of control. Diminished responsibility was clearly rejected by the jury; loss of control had earlier been ruled out by the judge.
"The Met is grateful to all those who helped secure this conviction and specific gratitude goes to those witnesses who attended court and gave evidence, reliving a horrific attack. However, our thoughts remain primarily with Zandra’s family and friends who have been left behind, especially her two young sons, her mother and her two sisters.
"The conviction of Brown for murder will undoubtedly provide a sense of justice for Zandra’s family but it will never replace Zandra herself. It is hoped they can now start to move forward with their lives and, at the right time, look to the future."
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