Description
Gabriel Brown (formerly Aaron Wright), a registered sex offender from Carlisle, has been jailed for life after murdering a man, severing and eating his finger, and setting fire to his flat.
Brown, 35, was found guilty in July 2026 of murdering 58-year-old Joseph Ernest Johnston at the victim’s home in Annan on 19 November 2024. He stabbed Mr Johnston 22 times, cut off his ring finger, cooked and ate it, carved letters into his face, and started multiple fires in the property. He was sentenced in late August 2026 at the High Court in Glasgow to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years.
Brown had previously lived in Carlisle and was jailed in 2018 under the name Aaron (or Arron) Wright for child sex offences. He admitted four counts of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl and three of causing or inciting her to engage in sexual activity, committed several years earlier in Carlisle. He was sentenced to five years, placed on the sex offenders’ register for life, and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The victim later said she suffered “horrifying nightmares” and that the abuse had “knocked my confidence, and reduced me to little self-esteem.”
Police Scotland confirmed it was aware of the name change from Wright to Brown. A spokesman said public safety is a priority and that multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) ensure name changes are known, risk-assessed and recorded. Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, Section 84, registered sex offenders must notify police within three days of using a new name (including aliases, usernames or email addresses). Failure to do so is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison. Police said they proactively enforce the requirements and report breaches to the Procurator Fiscal.
At trial, it emerged Brown had never met Mr Johnston before the night of the murder, though Mr Johnston had previously been in a relationship with Brown’s stepmother. Brown claimed he was possessed by the spirit of Victorian occultist Aleister Crowley and suffering from a mental disorder, but the jury rejected this defence. Detective Inspector Graeme Robertson described the actions as “completely senseless and reckless.” Scottish court reports noted Brown’s status as a convicted sex offender but did not link the convictions to his earlier offences in Cumbria under the name Wright.