Joss Stone has shared a deeply personal reflection about one of the darkest moments of her life — and how she has chosen forgiveness over fear.
More than a decade after two men plotted to kill her, the soul singer says she no longer carries anger toward them, even though the memory of the ordeal once drove her to leave Britain behind.
A Terrifying Plot That Shook Her Life
Back in 2011, police foiled a chilling plan by two men who intended to rob and murder Stone, before dumping her body in a river.
Their car was found packed with weapons, including a samurai sword, hammers, knives, and even plastic bags.
A judge later said the pair had shown a “clear intention” of killing her.
At the time, Stone had been at home in Devon with her doors unlocked.
By pure chance, the plot unraveled when the would-be attackers got lost, crashed near Bristol, and bizarrely waved around a picture of her while asking strangers for directions.
Prison Sentences That Didn’t Last
Kevin Liverpool and Junior Bradshaw were both jailed following the trial, with Liverpool originally sentenced to life and Bradshaw handed 18 years. But their terms were drastically reduced on appeal.
Liverpool was released in 2019 after serving just six and a half years, while Bradshaw was automatically freed in 2016, only five years after his arrest.
Choosing Forgiveness Over Fear
Speaking on the Nicky Byrne HQ podcast, Stone said she has made peace with what happened.
“It’s traumatic because, of course, that is a horrible thing to have happened — but it didn’t happen,” she explained.
“The idea that somebody would want to chop you up into small pieces and put you in a little bag is a bit jarring… but luckily, they didn’t get there. They didn’t hurt me.”
She admitted the incident left her feeling unsafe in her childhood home.
Eventually, she and her husband Cody decided to leave the UK altogether and start fresh in the United States.
Ready to Return Home
Now 38, Stone has four young children with Cody and says she feels ready to bring her family back to the UK.
“I just hope that they are okay and healed,” she said of the men who plotted against her.
“It’s a weird feeling because it’s hard not to feel sorry for people in that space. It’s also hard not to feel sorry for their mothers.”
She even wondered aloud whether the men had acted on their own or if someone had put them up to it.
“I still don’t even know if they were pissed off at me or if they were hired by someone… Who knows? I would like to ask.
It’s one of those niggling things. I’m just like, can we just have a cup of tea? Can we just talk about it?”
A Journey of Healing
Though the memory of the plot once pushed her away from her home country, Stone now says she no longer lives in fear.
For her, forgiveness is not about excusing what happened, but about moving forward.
And as she prepares to settle back in Britain, she seems determined to leave fear in the past and embrace a new chapter with her family.