Woman killed her elderly mother with a belt on Christmas morning, court hears
Stefania Glowka, 64, denies murdering Tamara Glowka, 86, but has pleaded guilty manslaughter
A woman strangled her elderly mother with a belt on Christmas morning before attempting to take her own life, a court heard.
Stefania Glowka, 64, denies murdering Tamara Glowka, 86, at their address in Devizes, Wiltshire, on December 25 last year, but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Bristol Crown Court heard Glowka had been the primary carer for her mother, who she lived and shared a bedroom with, before killing her in the early hours of Christmas Day.
A jury was told Glowka said she wanted to “let her mum go” after both women experienced a deterioration in their mental health.
Simon Jones, prosecuting, said: “Tamara Glowka was 86-years old when she was strangled with a belt in what was a very deliberate act of violence.
“The plan had ultimately been for the defendant, Ms Glowka, to commit suicide after killing her mother.
“That suicide attempt failed and the subsequent police investigation into events that day (the prosecution say) has established a tragic but determined murder.”
Mr Jones told the court Glowka had prepared her mother’s favourite meal on Christmas Eve and spent a “nice evening” with her, before they both went to bed.
Glowka, who never married or had children of her own, would later tell police she was the sole carer for her mother, who had suffered a decline in her mental and physical health and had recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
The court heard Glowka struggled to sleep that night and felt she had no energy to continue to care for her mother.
Glowka later told the police it was a “spur of the moment” decision to strangle her using a belt as she rose from her bed to use the bathroom in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Jones said: “This was not an uncontrollable act carried out by someone deprived of meaningful judgment or self-control. It was a deliberate act.
“The placing of a belt around her mother’s neck and tightening it, despite her mother’s attempts in vain, and without enough strength, to grab at that belt and succeed in loosening it.
“We say those planned actions, very carefully planned actions, together with the careful means by which the defendant sought to put her affairs in order, after the event, show… this defendant was fully capable of understanding what she was doing.”
The court heard Glowka laid next to her deceased mother and attempted to take her own life.
Despite losing consciousness for some time, she later awoke and phoned the police to explain what had happened.
In the call, she said she had been the sole carer for her mother over a period of 17 years and described herself as being “at the end of my road”.
When officers arrived at the property, Glowka directed them to a box containing documents including a letter addressed to a close friend, in which she said: “I killed my mum as I cannot continue to look after her and I love her too much to put her into an institutionalised care.
“I also cannot envisage life on my own, old age and inevitable health issues.”
The jury was told two psychiatrists had assessed Glowka and believed she was suffering from a recurrent depressive disorder.
Mr Jones said: “The central issue at the heart of this trial is essentially whether… That recognised mental condition substantially reduced her responsibility for what happened.
“The prosecution says that the answer to that question is plainly, no.
“That guilty plea entered to manslaughter does not go far enough. It does not properly reflect the defendant’s true level of responsibility for what she did.”
The trial continues.