In August 2017 in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, Brooks Jennings was mercilessly murdered as a result of an unhappy year-long dispute, according to Investigation Discovery’s “Fear Thy Neighbour: Unwelcome to the Neighbourhood.” The criminal was apprehended by the police at the scene of the crime, standing next to Brooks’ body and holding the murder weapon. We have information for you if you’re interested in learning what caused the senseless homicide and who the perpetrator was. This is what we do know.
How Did Brooks Jennings Die?
On January 16, 1966, George Brooks Jennings was born in West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, to the late Hollis Lee Jennings Jr. and Carol Brooks Jennings. In August 2017, he resided in his home on the 300 block of Box Elder Drive, a wealthy and peaceful area of West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, with his wife Jill Jennings (née Oliver) and son Matthew Brooks Jennings. He was everyone’s friend, according to his relatives, who characterised him as being nice and compassionate. His wife claimed that Brooks was the neighbourhood expert.
Neighbours referred to Brooks as the unofficial mayor of their picturesque suburban neighbourhood and characterised him as a dependent and supportive person who was always there for them in times of need. He belonged to the Chester County Republican Committee. Because of this, it was shocking when the 51-year-old was shot twice in the head on August 8, 2017, around 1:00 am. When the police got on the scene, they discovered Brooks dead after been fatally shot in the face at point-blank range with a.380-caliber Ruger semi-automatic handgun.
Who Killed Brooks Jennings?
When the first responders arrived, they discovered Brooks’ close neighbour, Clayton P. Carter III, standing over Brooks’ body and holding the murder weapon in his hand. They also discovered Jill sobbing over the lifeless body of her deceased husband while trying in vain to revive him. Clayton had left his weapon on top of a nearby car, and the police found two bullet casings—one on Clayton’s property and the other next to Brooks. The police immediately detained Clayton in connection with the murder of Brooks based on Jill’s statement.
The police weren’t sure what happened before the incident, even though it was obvious that Clayton shot his neighbour. To find out more about the long-running conflict between Brooks and Clayton, they spoke with the bereaved family and the neighbourhood. The episode said that Brooks and Clayton, who were both 51 at the time, had not been cordial neighbours ever since Carter moved into the area to care for his wife’s ailing father. Their relatively long-running, heated argument, which even resulted in multiple calls to the police, was reported to the authorities.
Steve Oliver, Brooks’ brother-in-law, said he knew Clayton to be a man with a temper. He described how the 51-year-old had harassed the Jennings family ever since he resided next door in the peaceful Chester County neighbourhood a few years ago. He declared, “That guy is a menace to society.” Steve claimed that Clayton had verbally fought with Jill and had specifically attacked his brother-in-law. According to police sources, Clayton had a history of conflicts with other neighbours as well, and his fury was well-known.
Steve reported that Clayton was very protective of his property and that he even allegedly put nails under the tyres of automobiles parked close to his house. Despite allegations of nails in the road in West Goshen, authorities were unable to locate any evidence connecting Clayton to the crime. But according to accounts, he had already been detained twice in Pennsylvania. According to court documents, Clayton was charged with felony aggravated assault, trespassing, and assault in Chester County in 1998.
The charges were ultimately downgraded to a summary offence. In Lancaster County, where he was residing at the time, he was also charged with two simple assault misdemeanour offences in October 2012. But once more, the authorities chose not to press charges against him. According to reports, he was once detained and accused of ramming his automobile through the front door of the house while arguing with his father about how to treat his daughter.
The programme claimed that Brooks and Clayton had fought numerous times over the preceding five years over unimportant matters like lawn decorations and parking spaces. Though West Goshen police had voiced doubt about the number, Steve asserted that the continuing dispute had led to more than 70 calls to the police in the last five years or so. It all came to a head that terrible August 2017 night when the two men sparred for the final time before one of them sadly lost his life.
According to police reports, Brooks confronted Clayton across their backyards at around 7:30 p.m. on August 7 to start their argument. Brooks allegedly recorded Clayton playing horseshoes with his grandchild using his mobile and called him a disparaging name while doing so. A police officer was sent after Clayton called 911, and he defused the situation. The brawl, however, continued late into the evening, showing that the situation was far from deescalating.
Court testimony reveals what When Clayton got home at midnight after getting groceries at a local Giant store, Brooks was supposedly drunk. When he got home, he saw that Brooks had allegedly installed lights in his driveway that shone on Clayton’s house. He carried his.380-caliber Ruger into his home after leaving the grocery bag there. Jill Jennings claimed that a gunshot could be heard coming from the front yard as she was using her computer in the dining room.
Clayton was standing over Brooks’ body with the murder weapon in his hand when Jill and her son ran over to the window. Clayton, however, claimed to the police that he used self-defense because he thought Brooks was about to stab him with a knife that was discovered at the site. The assertion was contested by the authorities, however, because there was no DNA evidence connecting Brooks to the weapon. They also learned that Brooks fired two rounds in a period of roughly 12 seconds, giving him time to place the knife between them, from a neighbor’s security tape.
Where is Clayton Carter Now?
First-degree murder charges were brought against Clayton, and his trial began in June 2019. He insisted on his innocence and chastised the victim’s family by disparaging Brooks and his wife, who gave evidence against him. His defence emphasised that Clayton fired the shots in self-defense when Brooks reportedly lunged at him with a knife. Clayton was convicted guilty of first-degree murder, owning a weapon of crime, and tampering with evidence after the court rejected his claim.
The prosecution contended that the convicted murderer had been plotting the murder for some years and finally had his chance when a dispute over a lawn security system arose. In August 2019, he received a life without parole sentence. In December 2019, Jill also sued Clayton and his family, alleging assault, battery, and negligent infliction of mental distress in addition to damages for her husband’s passing. The 57-year-old is completing his sentence at the State Correctional Institution in Somerset, per court documents.
