The family of murdered Jimmy Moore have said they are left with a void that “will never be filled” as his murderer was given a life sentence.

Jimmy was killed by Robert Crabtree in Nazeing on the morning of Saturday September 25 last year.

Crabtree has now been jailed for a minimum of 23 years for the murder.

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Jimmy arrived at Crabtree’s address in Palmers Grove in order to pick his brother, Ryan Crabtree, up for work.

Believing Ryan was sleeping in a front first floor bedroom, Jimmy threw stones at the window in order to wake him, but his brother was the one in the room.

Having been woken up, Crabtree shouted out of the window to Jimmy and the pair got into an argument.

Crabtree went downstairs and stabbed Jimmy several times, even after he fell to the floor.

Epping Forest Guardian: Jimmy Moore. Picture: Essex PoliceJimmy Moore. Picture: Essex Police (Image: Essex Police)

He died a short time later.

During police interviews, Crabtree, 33, claimed to have acted in self-defence, but CCTV footage which covered much of the incident disproved this.

Robert Crabtree was charged with murder and was convicted on August 8 following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

His brother Ryan, 30, was convicted of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to four years in prison for turning off the CCTV to hide evidence.

Epping Forest Guardian: Robert Crabtree. Picture: Essex PoliceRobert Crabtree. Picture: Essex Police (Image: Essex Police)

In a statement, Mr Moore’s family said: “We, as a family, gratefully welcome today’s sentence and we would like to pass on our thanks to the police for the hard work they have put into this case.

“Robert and Ryan, instead of ‘owning up’ and taking responsibility for their actions tried to blame Jimmy for what happened.

“Jimmy’s death was needless and pointless, and it’s left a void in our family that will never be filled.

“Our family knew both Robert and Ryan well and we extended generosity to them over a long period of time and in many different ways, this makes it even more difficult to comprehend the tragedy of what happened that morning.”

Detective Scott Egerton said: “Robert Crabtree used extreme violence to settle an argument over a relatively minor matter, and in doing so has robbed Jimmy’s family of a loving father, husband, son, and brother.”