Son jailed for murdering mum in 'ferocious' attack

A man who killed his bed-bound mother in a "ferocious and sustained" hammer attack has been jailed for life and told he will serve a minimum of 16 years.

On Friday, Michael Bowen, 35, was found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of the murder of 65-year-old Janet Bowen at their home in Maple Gardens in Yateley, Hampshire, in the early hours of 31 December last year.

The court heard he had hit his mother, who had recently suffered a stroke, over the head and face with the hammer more than 10 times.

Judge Adam Feest KC said it was "impossible to imagine the terror that she experienced in the final moments of her life".

Janet Bowen was reliant on other people for her care, including from her son, following a stroke, the court was told.

Concerned neighbours contacted police after they heard a disturbance and later carers attended her home to find her dead.

Bowen had earlier admitted his mother's manslaughter on the grounds of diminished reponsibility, criminal damage and possession of cannabis.

His family said her had been a "caring, loving son" who had been changed by his "heavy" drug use.

Tina Adkin KC, defending, said Bowen had recently taken a decision to stop drinking and taking drugs following the death of his grandmother, and that he had shown "real remorse for his actions".

Bowen was diagnosed as suffering from substance-induced psychotic disorder contributed to by alcohol withdrawal and the court heard that he had heard voices telling him to kill his mother.

But the jury rejected his manslaughter plea and found him guilty of murder.

The defendant's sister, Samantha Bowen, said in a victim impact statement read to the court that her mother "was a gentle and kind person, she had a heart of gold".

"The fact that it was my own brother who took her life has fractured our family in a way that feels completely impossible to heal, brutal and senseless.

"The layer of betrayal and confusion this has brought into my life is an unimaginable weight to carry."

Bowen was also sentenced for possessing cannabis and causing criminal damage to a nearby property.

Benjamin May, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Bowen had launched a "sustained and fatal attack on her in the place she should have been safest".

"While Bowen accepted he had unlawfully killed his mother, we did not accept that a plea to manslaughter reflected the true gravity of what he had done, and the jury agreed."

Det Supt Ross Toms, who led Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary's investigation, said the force's thoughts remained with Janet Bowen's family.