When the iconic Sycamore Gap tree was cut down in September 2023, it triggered an outpouring of grief and outrage.
Believed to be about 200 years old, the stately tree rose out of a dip in the craggy landscape of Northumberland, England. For decades, visitors used it as a quietly dramatic backdrop for picnics, vacation photos and wedding proposals.
But that history came to an abrupt end on the morning of Sept. 28, 2023, when the well-loved tree was found on its side, sliced by a chainsaw.
Now, two English men have been convicted for the crime.
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, were each convicted on Friday of two charges of criminal damage, related to the brazen act of vandalism in northern England. Jurors found that the men damaged the tree that was owned by the National Trust, along with damaging the nearby historic Hadrian's Wall, which was hit by the large tree's trunk when it fell.
Graham and Carruthers were found guilty in Newcastle Crown Court, where they face punishment up to 10 years in prison. They are currently slated to be sentenced on July 15, the court said in a note to NPR.
During the trial, prosecutors showed the jury a grainy video from Graham's phone of the tree being sawn down. Metadata showed the footage was recorded at the tree's exact location, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
The pair relished the anguish they caused, prosecutors said, citing text messages between Graham and Carruthers.
Chief Crown Prosecutor Gale Gilchrist of CPS North East said in a statement: "In just under three minutes, Graham and Carruthers ended its historic legacy in a deliberate and mindless act of destruction."
"As news of their crime spread the following day, the pair exchanged messages, revelling in the public outcry they had caused," Gilchrist added.
Both men denied having anything to do with the tree. But data from their phones and Graham's car placed them at the scene of the crime. No motive was presented at trial; prosecutors have called the act "moronic."
Two one-time friends turned on each other
Graham and Carruthers had worked together in the past, as landscapers and handymen. Once close friends, they fell out and turned on each other, with Graham blaming Carruthers at trial.
"As the news media rolled in, as the outrage of the public became clear, it must have dawned on them that they couldn't see anyone else smiling," prosecutor Richard Wright told the court in his closing statement.
Jurors reached a verdict after deliberating four hours Thursday, and then less than 30 minutes Friday morning.
Neither defendant showed any emotion as the verdict was read out.
Sadness, and then hope, followed a shocking act
In response to the conviction, the National Trust thanked prosecutors and the Northumbria Police for resolving the case.
"The needless felling of the Sycamore Gap tree shocked people around the country and overseas, demonstrating the powerful connection between people and our natural heritage," a National Trust spokesperson said in a statement sent to NPR.
"It was felt particularly deeply here in the north east of England where the tree was an emblem of the region and the backdrop to many personal memories."
The Sycamore Gap tree grew in a gully near Hadrian's Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that once marked the frontier of the Roman Empire. Over decades, the tree became a beloved icon, featured on postcards and in Kevin Costner's 1991 film, Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.
For the tree's admirers, a bit of relief came last summer when the same ranger who had initially discovered the fallen sycamore reported seeing new shoots of growth along its stump, fueling hopes that the tree might regenerate itself.
The National Trust and Northumberland National Park Authority also worked to sprout seeds and nurture cuttings from the famous tree.
Police have previously said that two other people who were initially questioned in the weeks after the tree was cut down — a 16-year-old boy and a 60-year-old man — face no further action in the case.
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