STOCKPORT WOMAN ADMITS KILLING DAD AND BURYING BODY IN GARDEN
A woman beat her "violent bully" father to death with a shovel and buried his body in her garden after finding his hoard of child abuse images.The remains of Kenneth Coombes were discovered in Reddish in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in January.
Barbara Coombes, 63, of Matlock Road in Reddish, pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility at Manchester Crown Court.
She was sentenced to nine years imprisonment by Mr Justice Timothy King.
The court heard Coombes had killed her father in 2006 and kept his body hidden until she confessed to police on 7 January, stating "I murdered my father 12 years ago." She had earlier uncovered a box of photographs belonging to her 87-year-old father, containing indecent images of children.
The court was told she had suffered 40 years of physical and verbal abuse from her father, described as a violent bully, and that she 'snapped' during an argument.
Feeling "utterly disgusted and mortified," she hit him over the back of the head with a shovel, then when he turned around, she struck him a second time, slashing his throat with the blade of the shovel.
As he bled to death, she wrapped his body in a carpet, placed it in the garden, and the following day buried it with soil.
Psychiatric reports indicated she had post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression.
Although she managed to lie about her father's death for over a decade, suspicions led her to confess during a police visit.
She also continued claiming her father's pension and benefits, receiving £189,125 over 12 years.
Coombes had earlier admitted to preventing her father's lawful burial and to two fraud charges.
