WHEN Dean Allsop had a row with his neighbour over his bins, it sparked a feud between the pair – but fiancee Louise Newell never dreamed it would end in murder.
The couple reported Jamie Crosbie, their neighbour in Norwich, to the police after he began hurling weapons at them during the minor dispute, in 2018.
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But two years later mum-of-three Louise, then 43, watched in horror as the vile monster, 50, stabbed 40-year-old Dean Allsop 17 times in front of his teenage son before launching an attack on her.
Miraculously, she survived the slash wounds to her forehead, neck and chest, although she sadly lost Dean.
Blood-soaked Crosbie was arrested and received a life sentence in court in 2022, where a judge branded him “a very dangerous man”.
Bravely speaking exclusively to The Sun about her terrifying ordeal, Louise says: “Our neighbour held a grudge against Dean for two years, then took his revenge. He was evil.
“He robbed my children of their father for nothing. Although Dean is gone now, I’ll never stop loving him.”
Louise and Dean, a groundworker, met as teenagers and were each other’s first loves. Over the years, they got engaged and had three children, Millie, 22, Mikey, 20, and Jacob, eight.
Louise, a baker, says: “For over 25 years, Dean was my world. He was a brilliant dad too.
“We initially lived in London but we decided to take our family to the coast, in Norfolk, where it was safer for the kids to grow up.
“We found a nice three-bedroom house on a quiet crescent in 2011. The neighbours were lovely.
“Every day, Dean played outside with the kids. On the weekends, he took them fishing. He was their best friend.
“His main passion was motocross. Since Mikey was a baby Dean taught him how to ride. It was their special bond.”
Years later, in 2016, the family got a new neighbour, Crosbie.
Unlike their other neighbours in the quiet crescent in Thorpe St Andrew, Norwich, Crosbie never smiled or said ‘hello’, and kept to himself.
Two years later in 2018, Louise was rocking their youngest to sleep when her daughter ran into the bedroom, screaming that the neighbour was trying to attack their dad.
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Louise says: “I rushed to the window and saw Jamie, on the road, throwing knives at Dean.
“I was horrified. I couldn’t believe it. He was yelling at Dean for touching his bin.
“Dean luckily locked himself into the garden and shouted for me to call the police. I dialled 999 and Jamie spotted me holding the baby in the window.
“He threw a hammer directly at us. But it missed and hit next door’s window.
“I screamed out, in shock. Minutes later, the police came and arrested Jamie.
Jamie was stood in his front garden, covered in blood, clutching a giant knife. He stared at me in silence
Louise Newell
“No-one was hurt but my family and all the neighbours were really shaken up.”
In October 2018, Crosbie pleaded guilty to carrying offensive weapons and criminal damage at Norwich Crown Court.
He received a fine and was ordered to do community service.
Terrifying attack
After he returned to the street, Louise was terrified and avoided taking the kids out for a while.
She says: “The police told us Jamie would never come near us again. Dean kept telling me we needed to move on and live in peace.
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“He even said if he did see him, he’d shake his hand and forgive him.
“Thankfully we never saw Jamie after that. He stayed out of our way as he was on probation.
“Due to the Covid lockdowns in the years after, we barely left the house anyway.”
In April 2021, Dean was outside the house helping their son Mikey, then 17, ride his motorbike.
Crosbie heard the engine revving and came outside, screaming at Dean for making noise.
I was pleading with him to stop while dodging the knife but I wasn’t quick enough
Louise
Crosbie then stormed into his home and returned, clutching a large kitchen knife.
Louise was inside, giving their youngest a bath while their daughter was at a friend’s house.
Louise says: “Mikey ran inside screaming Dad was dead. In shock, I didn’t understand.
“I thought for a moment Dean might have been run over or crashed the bike.
“I rushed out and saw Dean on the road, in a pool of blood.
“Jamie was stood in his front garden, covered in blood, clutching a giant knife. He stared at me in silence.
“I froze and shouted for Mikey to lock the doors and stay inside with Jacob. Then I rang 999, whilst rushing over to Dean.
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“He’d been stabbed all over. I couldn’t stop screaming.
“Dean’s eyes were closed but he squeezed my hand. I was hysterical.
“The operator was telling me to stay calm but I looked up and saw Jamie marching towards Dean again.”
Howling, Louise stood back as Crosbie viciously stabbed Dean again, this time in the neck twice.
He’d stabbed the dad-of-three a total of 17 times.
As Dean lay dying, the cold-blooded murderer launched himself at Louise.
That monster took my children’s father for nothing
Louise
She says: “I was pleading with him to stop while dodging the knife. But I wasn’t quick enough and he slashed my forehead.
“He then stabbed me in the neck twice, and once in my chest. In agony, I nearly collapsed. But I told myself if I did, my kids would have no mum left.
“With all my might, I continued fighting him off and he stabbed my hand.
“Suddenly my neighbour appeared and told Jamie to leave me alone, distracting him.”
Crosbie turned to Louise’s neighbour, and began stabbing her in the neck too.
Blinded by blood in her eyes, Louise struggled to see but when she finally did, she saw Jamie had fled back inside his home.
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Chilling taunt
Horrified neighbours leaned over their fences, and waved Louise over. She managed to escape into someone’s house.
Louise says: “Moments later, I heard helicopters and I knew Dean would be okay. I knew they’d save him.”
A team of officers captured Crosbie, covered in blood, outside his house.
In a chilling remark, as the handcuffs locked, he told police: “Killing people isn’t always a bad thing.”
Meanwhile, Louise was rushed to Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital.
Louise says: “I kept watching the door, waiting for Dean to be brought in too.
“Instead, a policeman appeared and told me that Dean had passed away.
“My entire world collapsed. I was sobbing as I was rushed into emergency theatre.”
Five neighbour rows that ended with murder
By Josh Saunders
NEIGHBOURS can either our best friends or our worst enemies.
Sometimes, all it takes for that bond to fall apart is a small argument or a tiny issue over parking or bins.
Tragically, neighbour feuds can escalate to the point of violence – as these harrowing cases prove:
Serial killer Barry Williams shot dead five of his neighbours and injured three more in a shocking massacre in 1978. He was released after 15 years and in 2014, police feared another attack. William – then renamed Harry Street – was taken to court after being discovered to have been making a bomb and possessing firearms. He died behind bars of a heart attack that year.
Can Arslan stabbed his neighbour Matthew Boorman 27 times after a long-running dispute. The Gloucestershire man was sentenced to 38 years in prison. Neighbours had sought legal action against Arslan in the months leading up to the killing after regular threats and feeling “unsafe in their own homes”.
Ex-soldier Collin Reeves stabbed neighbours Stephen and Jennifer Chapple to death with a ceremonial military dagger in 2021. It followed an ongoing row over parking.
Deranged Anthony Lawrence built a secret passage into his neighbour’s loft before using it to try to kill pregnant Laura Sugden with a crossbow. The East Yorks man fired bolts at her partner Shane, killing him, and later took his own life in 2018. Before the attack she complained about the smell of weed coming from his home.
Sick killer William Wilkinson dismembered his neighbour’s body and disposed of him across Lancashire and Cumbria. He beat Eddie Forrester to death with a wooden stick before trying to cover-up his horrific killing in 2023. The reason for the attack remains a mystery.
Heartbreaking loss
Heartbroken Louise woke up from surgery and learned her forehead had flapped open from where Jamie had slashed her.
Surgeons stitched it back on like a face-lift while also repairing the nerves in her neck that had been cut.
Her neighbour, who came to her rescue, also had surgery on her neck after being stabbed and she survived.
Louise says: “I didn’t care about anything but my Dean. I was 40 and Dean was all I’d ever known since I was a teenage girl.
“I couldn’t accept that he was gone. After going back home, the kids were beside themselves.
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“That monster took my children’s father for nothing.”
In August 2022, Jamie Crosbie, 50, of Primrose Crescent, Thorpe St Andrew, Norwich, was found guilty of one count of murder against Dean at Norwich Crown Court.
He was also found guilty of two counts of wounding with intent against Louise and her neighbour.
He was jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 28 years.
Louise says: “I was relieved he couldn’t hurt anyone else. But no time would ever make up for taking Dean away from us.
“Jamie held a grudge after his first arrest and took revenge.
“Now, the children and I have moved house and have started fresh. But we mourn Dean every day.
“He was the funniest, cheekiest man you’d ever meet.”
