Life sentence for Finchley man who killed ex-wife in street (From Times Series)

Life sentence for Finchley man who killed ex-wife in street

5:30pm Friday 3rd February 2012 in News By David Hardiman

A man who fatally stabbed his ex-wife in front of their two young children in Tottenham has been told he will serve at least 21 years in prison.

Nathaniel Brown, of Finchley, was given a life sentence at the Old Bailey this morning for the murder of 24-year-old Zandra Maxwell-Nelson, of Brent, in Durban Road on April 20 last year.

After sentence was passed, applause could be heard coming from the public gallery.

Brown, 27, stabbed his ex-wife up to 20 times after meeting her by chance outside his sister's home.

He had denied murder on the grounds that he was depressed at the time, but was found guilty by a jury on Monday.

Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Martin Stephens said: "Nothing that the court heard from the doctors or on the evidence as a whole can begin to explain the savage, unremitting attack you launched on a helpless woman, your wife, other than wilful anger.

"All of this in the street in front of your children and other people's children and in the view of horrified neighbours.

"You were angry because your wife and your sister were consorting together without your knowledge and approval. You had earlier proved that you were a controlling, possessive individual, so you went into your sister's house, took a large kitchen knife, came out into the street and stabbed and slashed your wife up to 20 times."

The couple first met in early 2007 and were married in July that year. By June 2008 the relationship began to break down when Brown hit their baby son. He admitted assault over that incident. They had a second child in 2009, although Brown never accepted that the baby was his. In September 2010, Ms Maxwell-Nelson started divorce proceedings.

Brown will serve a minimum term of 21 years. In mitigation, the court heard there was no significant premeditation in the attack, and that Brown had psychological problems.