Mum of murder victim Brandon Lee speaks of heartbreak and how he will never see his young daughter grow up

Ross Miller has been jailed for 19 years for the brutal machette murder of Brandon Lee in South Shields in May.

Mr Lee was found dead at Miller's flat in South Shields with over 100 injuries after the brutal attack.

Mr Lee died as a result of stab wounds to his neck and chest and suffered "60 separate actions from a sharp-edged weapon or weapons including chopping, stabbing and potentially slashing"

A heartbreaking statement was read out at the hearing from Brandon’s mum Nicola said: "The day I was told of my son's death the bottom of my world fell away.

"No words can describe how I am feeling, Brandon was my life.

"We had our differences but we were very close, he told me everything.

"His older brother, who has served multiple tours for his country, is really struggling with the loss of his brother in such a horrific way.

"Brandon has a three-year-old daughter who will grow up without a dad in her life, he will never see her first day at school, share birthdays or Christmases.

"He will never see her get married or have children.

"The person responsible was meant to be his friend and he killed him in a cruel, brutal and callous way. The injuries can never be justified.

"It is destroying me knowing his last breath on this earth was in pain.

"He must have been so scared, in so much pain and I wasn't there to protect him.

"I need to understand why this happened.

"I am broken beyond repair. I will never recover from this.

"The only thing keeping me here is my daughter, son and granddaughter and seeing justice served for Brandon's brutal death."

Miss Lee said in the statement she will "never forgive" or get get over the loss of her "precious, beautiful boy".

She added: "All I have left are his ashes in an urn and a lock of his hair.

"No parent should ever have to feel this pain."

Detective Sergeant Ewan Campbell, of Northumbria Police’s Homicide & Major Enquiries Team, said: “This was a brutal killing which has sadly resulted in Brandon’s death. Our thoughts go out to his family at this awful time.

“These were two friends who were seen in each other’s company in the hours prior to the incident – but a disagreement inside Miller’s flat has then spiralled and the most horrific act of violence ensued.

“Brandon was found with multiple stab wounds and up to 100 sharp injuries, while Miller had also suffered severed tendons and ligaments in both hands.

“Inside the flat, officers also found a number of knives – including the machete which was used by Miller to inflict the fatal and exhaustive blows that ended Brandon’s life.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in this case, from the witnesses who gave evidence to the detectives who spent hundreds of hours poring over CCTV footage, and today I hope this conviction can bring some comfort to Brandon’s family.

“We are committed to bringing violent offenders to justice – and Miller is clearly a dangerous individual who inflicted horrific injuries to Brandon during a prolonged and vicious attack."

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