Carer hit and smothered woman, 90, to death after stealing from her, court hears

A carer struck a 90-year-old woman over the head with a metal flask and smothered her to death with a pillow days after she was caught on camera stealing from her, a court has heard.

Jayne Hill, 52, waited outside the home of Myra Thompson late on the evening of April 22 until the bedroom lights were turned off and then entered with the aim of “removing her” as a witness to the theft.

A month earlier, a covert camera was set up in the home of Mrs Thompson in Spital, Wirral , after she told neighbours she suspected one of her carers was taking cash from her purse, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

On April 12, Hill was seen stealing money from Mrs Thompson and the agency worker was subsequently suspended by her employers after she “flatly” denied the offence.

Jailing Hill for life with a minimum term of 22-and-a-half years, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool, Andrew Menary KC, told her: “You brutally killed Mrs Thompson while she was alone and utterly defenceless.

This was not a sudden explosion of anger. It was a considered act of selfish motivation and an attempt at self-preservation

“The reason why you committed this dreadful crime really defies belief.

“You waited until you were sure Mrs Thompson was in bed and the lights were off and then perhaps hoped she would be asleep.

“The suddenness, ferocity and persistence of the violence you used demonstrates, I am sure, that you went there that night intending to kill your victim.

“You hit her several times over the head with a metal flask and then placed a pillow with considerable force over her head and neck.

“You wanted to try to conceal the fact that a crime had been committed by removing the person who you believed was the only possible witness.

“This was a cruel and callous offence involving significant planning and pre-meditation which involved a gross breach of trust.

“This was not a sudden explosion of anger. It was a considered act of selfish motivation and an attempt at self-preservation.”

The judge said some of the injuries inflicted on Mrs Thompson indicated she “fought as hard as she possibly could”, and he added he had no doubt Hill had stolen from the former hospital worker on more than one occasion.

Grandmother Hill, of Upton, Wirral, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to murder and theft of cash.

She also admitted stealing jewellery from other elderly people she cared for, including a gold necklace belonging to a 97-year-old woman.

Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC told the court Mrs Thompson was described by her friends and neighbours as “very alert and independent” and was able to live “very happily” in her own home.

He said her body was found the next day at her address in Bolde Way by another carer.

Following her arrest, Hill denied in her first two police interviews that she had anything to do with the death.

In her third interview, she told detectives she had visited Mrs Thompson with the intention of persuading her to accept the return of the stolen cash so she would not lose her job.

She claimed she hit the widow with a flask she picked up from the bedside after she “started shouting” and then used a pillow to silence her.

Hill, of Norwich Drive, said she then left the scene, not knowing if her victim was deceased.

She maintained her version of events when the case came to court as she admitted murder but later abandoned her basis of plea after the Crown rejected her account.

David Polglase, defending, said Hill had no previous convictions but “fell to temptation” after financial pressures at home.

He said: “She bitterly regrets what she has done and wishes to express remorse for what she has done.”

Hill wrote to the judge that she was “at a complete loss” to explain killing Mrs Thompson.

Following sentencing, Mrs Thompson’s friend and neighbour Ann Jarvis said: “I have lost all confidence and trust in the world and humanity itself as I try to comprehend the brutal murder of my dear friend and neighbour Myra.

“Myra was like a sister to me and I keep replaying over and over this day, and the shock of hearing of her killing.

“Myra had worked in a caring role all her life in Clatterbridge Cancer Unit, as well as caring for her disabled husband for 50 years. Myra was a trusting, kind, loyal and intelligent lady who never hurt anyone. Ever.

“All Myra wanted and deserved was to spend the rest of her days in the comfort of her own home and be treated with the respect and dignity she has shown to others.”

Mrs Thompson’s niece Anne Charters said: “We can only imagine the terror she experienced during her final moments in her own home, a place where she was supposed to be safe.

“We are hoping that now justice has been served we can all move on, and hope it will go some way towards helping everyone directly affected by this shocking case to find some form of closure from what has ultimately been a living nightmare.”