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.
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September 11, 2021
