Michael Bowen jailed for life for hammer murder of bed-bound mother in Yateley

Mixed · 2Michael Bowen, 35, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years for murdering his 65-year-old mother, Janet Bowen, at their home in Maple Gardens, Yateley, Hampshire. 1 2 Mixed · 2The attack happened in the early hours of New Year's Eve last year; Janet Bowen, who had recently suffered a stroke, was bed-bound, and the court heard her son hit her over the head and face with a hammer more than 10 times. 1 2 Mixed · 2Bowen was found guilty of murder at Winchester Crown Court; the jury rejected a defence of diminished responsibility, although he was diagnosed with substance-induced psychotic disorder contributed to by alcohol withdrawal and the court heard he had heard voices telling him to kill his mother. 1 2

Left · 1Judge Adam Feest KC called it a "ferocious and sustained attack" and said it was impossible to imagine the terror Janet Bowen experienced, knowing it was her own son attacking her. 1 Mixed · 2Defence counsel Tina Adkin KC said Bowen had recently decided to stop drinking and taking drugs after his grandmother's death and had shown "real remorse for his actions". 1 2 Left · 1Bowen's family said he, who was his mother's carer, had been a "caring, loving son" changed by "heavy" drug use. 1

Mixed · 2In a victim impact statement, Samantha Bowen, Janet Bowen's daughter and the defendant's sister, described her mother as gentle and kind with "a heart of gold" and said the killing by her brother had fractured the family in a way that felt impossible to heal. 2 1 Right · 1Benjamin May of the Crown Prosecution Service said Bowen had violated his mother's trust, and that although Bowen accepted unlawfully killing her, the CPS did not accept a manslaughter plea reflected the gravity of what he did, and the jury agreed. 2 Mixed · 2Bowen was also sentenced for possessing cannabis and causing criminal damage to a nearby property. 1 2