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Alexander McDonald guilty of mother's power cord murder Alexander McDonald guilty of mother's power cord murder
(34 minutes later)
A man has been found guilty of murdering his mother by strangling her with a power cord and stabbing her.A man has been found guilty of murdering his mother by strangling her with a power cord and stabbing her.
Alexander McDonald, 27, who also sexually assaulted Catherine McDonald, 57, had previously admitted manslaughter but denied her murder. Alexander McDonald, 27, who also sexually assaulted Catherine McDonald, 57, admitted manslaughter but denied murder.
His mother was found at their home in Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, last year. Police found his mother's body at their home in Somerset after arresting him for crashing her car in Devon.
The trial at Exeter Crown Court heard that McDonald was high on cocaine and alcohol before carrying out the attack.The trial at Exeter Crown Court heard that McDonald was high on cocaine and alcohol before carrying out the attack.
'Quiet person'
Det Insp Julie Mackay said the murder victim was "a quiet person who lived a private life".
She added: "We know he'd been drinking heavily at a wine tasting event the night before the murder, returning home at around midnight. He'd also taken cocaine.
"While he's been convicted of her murder, we may never know what triggered him to attack his mother in such a brutal fashion, before stealing her car which he later crashed in Devon."
The trial heard McDonald used a power cord, knitting needles, scissors and kitchen knife to attack his mother on 30 September last year.
The prosecution said hours before the killing, McDonald was exchanging texts of a sexual nature with a male friend.
A psychiatrist told the jury that Mr McDonald was not aware of what he was doing at the time of the killing.
He crashed his mother's car in Butterleigh and was seen walking away from it. He then walked into a couple's home nearby and was told to leave.
No formal charges were made relating to the break-in, the car theft or the sexual assault.
McDonald will be sentenced on Wednesday.