Man jailed for neighbour's murder

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/sussex/7752388.stm

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A 41-year-old alcoholic who was found asleep next to a dead grandmother has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murder.

Martin Garratty said he had no recollection of killing his disabled 65-year-old neighbour Rhona Heywood.

She was found with 42 injuries and died of asphyxiation after being gagged with her nightdress at her flat in Godwin Court, Horsham, West Sussex, in March.

Garratty was told he would serve a minimum term of 17 years in jail.

Sentencing him at Lewes Crown Court, Judge Anthony Scott-Gall said he had committed the "most dreadful of crimes carried out with a savage brutality that any decent person would find hard to comprehend".

He added: "You attacked the deceased principally with your right fist and bludgeoned her about her head so as to cause the very severe injuries."

Bracelet alarm

The judge said that Ms Heywood trusted Garratty, even acting as a character reference when he appeared in court charged with causing actual bodily harm.

The court heard that unemployed Garratty had turned violent after heavy drinking.

Ms Heywood - who used a walking frame and suffered from disabilities including severe arthritis - had telephoned Garratty in his flat upstairs and given him £20 to buy her brandy, jurors were told.

During the evening, Garratty downed neat brandy and cider at Ms Heywood's flat in front of her and a friend.

The court heard that at about 2300 GMT, the friend left the property, and at 2319 GMT Chichester Community Careline received an alert from Ms Heywood's bracelet alarm.

'Right conclusion'

Police arrived at 2358 GMT to find Ms Heywood's front door ajar and discovered her blood-soaked body in the bedroom of the ground-floor flat, with Garratty lying in a drunken state with his right arm round her.

Ms Heywood's injuries were mainly on her head and neck.

Speaking after Garratty was sentenced, Ms Heywood's son, Richard Slater, said the jury had reached the "right conclusion" and "justice has been served".

Det Ch Insp Trevor Bowles, of Sussex Police, said: "This was an awful, violent and indeed tragic murder.

"Martin Garratty has been convicted of this terrible crime on compelling evidence."