Two men were arrested as they intended to rob and murder soul singer and actor Joss Stone, according to a jury. They were armed with weapons including a samurai sword and were equipped with body bags and gaffer tape.

Kevin Liverpool, 35, and Junior Bradshaw, 32, embarked on a 275-mile drive to the rich soul star’s rural Devon home with an “arsenal of weapons” that included hammers and a knife.

According to reports, the suspected murder plot was laden with complications.

The perpetrators were apprehended in June 2011 near the singer’s home after police received a tip from suspicious neighbors.

When police searched the men’s car and home, they discovered a note portraying Stone as a “she-devil in flesh” and other notes implying that they considered decapitating her and dumping her body in a river.

They never made it to her house, thankfully. The singer was at home at the time when the two were apprehended.

“They got a car, they collected their weapons of choice and made their way to within a short distance of Joss Stone’s house,” said prosecutor Simon Morgan QC.

“She is an extremely wealthy young woman. Fortunately, they were not successful although she was at home.”

Court drawing of Kevin Liverpool and Junior Bradshaw in the dock (PIC: ELIZABETH COOK)

Morgan QC told the jury, which consisted of ten men and two women: “This case is about a decision by a group of individuals, of which these defendants are two, to rob and kill Joss Stone.

“That is not a phrase I have plucked from the air. It is used in documents written by Mr Liverpool during the planning stages of this plot. We don’t know who the others are but that does not matter.

“Your job will be to determine whether you think these two are part of a plot.”

The couple allegedly attempted to locate the 25-year-old popstar’s residence by studying a video documentary she produced for MTV’s Cribs.

They allegedly also asked a postman for directions to her house and printed Google street maps to locate her new residence, which was only a short distance away.

The motive for the scheme remained unclear, but Morgan speculated that the men may have chosen Stone because of her wealth or because of her ties to the royal family.

According to the notes, the pair did not approve of Stone’s invitation to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, he stated.

In 2011, Bradshaw, 32, and Liverpool, 35, were charged with conspiring to murder, conspiring to cause serious bodily harm, and conspiring to rob.

Police spoke to Liverpool and Bradshaw on the way from Manchester after they crashed on the forecourt of a service station, but let them go, according to Exeter crown court.

Liverpool, according to Mr Morgan, investigated the scheme and took notes about numerous musicians before selecting on Joss as a target.

“Joss Stone’s work has included performing at several charity concerts – these included concerts attended by Prince William in particular,” Mr Morgan explained.

“As a consequence of that, she was invited to attend the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April 2011.”

The court heard that the two made at least one fact-finding excursion to the area in the weeks preceding their arrest a few miles from Stone’s home on June 13, 2011.

They sparked suspicion, the court heard, because their car was unknown to the “eagle-eyed community” in the region.