Frail soldier and mother guilty of murdering grandmother

A historical soldier and his mother stumbled on guilty of murdering his eighty four-300 and sixty five days-ragged grandmother were snared when police bugged their home and recorded a secret confession.  

Military extinct Barry Rogers, 33, became recorded telling his mother Penelope John, 50, ‘we want to support our story the identical,’ whereas discussing the 2011 abolish of Betty Man. 

The pair were nowadays stumbled on guilty of abolish after a court heard they plied the grandmother with whisky and capsules sooner than smothering her in mattress.

All the design by design of their investigation, police bugged John’s home after the pair were bailed to the take care of – the put Rogers became heard admitting ‘I did it,’ when his mother mentioned her abolish arrest.  

Rogers became furthermore recorded asking his mother: ‘Take into accout when I acknowledged to give her whisky, to place some tablets in her whisky? 

‘Who acknowledged that, by text – or did I order that on the phone?’

John became heard responding: ‘Overwhelmed the diazepam up?’

Rogers replied: ‘Yeah… I reckon I acknowledged it on the phone. They haven’t received the phone…. they haven’t received the phone to win it from.’

Together with: ‘There may perchance be nothing to effort about. Nothing to effort about. Serve our story the identical.’ 

The pair were stumbled on guilty of killing the retired nurse following a three-week trial – after claiming she’d died from cancer in 2011.

However the court became rapid there were no sage of Mrs Man tormented by cancer, and Rogers became secretly recorded confessing to the abolish.

It took the jury bigger than eight hours to search out the pair guilty of abolish.

They were arrested by police 5 years after Mrs Man became stumbled on silly at her home in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.

An ex girlfriend of historical navy lance corporal Rogers rapid police he had confessed to her about being guilty for his gran’s loss of life. 

Prosecutor Paul Lewis QC acknowledged John plied her mother with a cocktail of diazepam, zoplicone and whisky, sooner than Rogers smothered her to loss of life.

He acknowledged: ‘They’d collectively agreed to total the lifetime of Mrs Man at a time to be determined.

‘On the slack evening of Sunday November 6, 2011, Penelope John summoned her son to Mrs Man’s home to place their conception into operation.

‘Penelope John gave her mother a cocktail of crushed tablets and alcohol, and Barry Rogers then deliberately killed her, seemingly by smothering her with an object equivalent to a cushion or pillow.’

Mr Lewis acknowledged Rogers confessed to ex-Rhian Morris, the mummy of his small one, he’d given his grandmother ‘a load of tablets’.

All the design by design of their relationship he furthermore rapid her: ‘You will want to be careful or I will fabricate to you what I did to her.’

Rogers later married one other lady, Lisa Watkins, who acknowledged he’d rapid her how his gran had requested him to abet her die.

He rapid the identical story to high college sweetheart Sandra Adams, who reported his phrases to police after their relationship broke down.

Mr Lewis acknowledged: ‘He rapid Ms Adams that he had below the affect of alcohol a pitcher of whisky sooner than placing a pillow over his nan’s face.

‘He acknowledged that his nan had been combating him, so he stopped.

‘He acknowledged he had then had one other glass of whisky and had effect a pillow over her face a second time.

‘He acknowledged that this time ‘she correct went.’

The court heard John rang 999 to instruct her mother had been struggling with bowel and abdominal cancer and had died in mattress.

But scientific recordsdata confirmed Mrs Man became by no design identified with cancer, and a doctor John claimed had rapid her Mrs Man became terminally sick acknowledged the conversation by no design took jam.

No post mortem became performed on Mrs Man, and her daughter chose to private her physique cremated days after her loss of life.

John acknowledged her relationship with her mother had been ‘unbelievable’ and had her ashes scattered in her backyard which she visited each and each day.

She acknowledged she’d inherited most efficient a washer and a tumble dryer after her mum’s loss of life, and her son’s recorded admissions had been a ‘shaggy dog story’.

Asked a few mercy-killing pact, she acknowledged: ‘I’d by no design comply with that. My mother became my lifestyles.’

But Mr Lewis rapid the jury the pair had ‘repeatedly modified their reports’, saying: ‘Our case is that they’re each and every guilty of abolish.’

Rogers, of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, and John, of nearby St Dogmaels, will be sentenced later. 

After taking the verdict, Mr Justice Lewis rapid them he would sentence them to lifestyles imprisonment on Thursday.

He acknowledged: ‘You have been stumbled on guilty of the abolish of Betty Man. I converse that each and every of you be remanded in custody.

‘I verbalize that you be introduced abet to court on Thursday February Eight whereupon I will sentence you to the sentence required by the laws which is lifestyles imprisonment and the succesful minimal time duration.’ 

After the verdict, Mrs Man’s daughter Lorraine Matthews acknowledged her family had been ‘scared and insecure’ to learn that her mother may perchance perchance per chance also honest were murdered.

In a statement released by design of Dyfed-Powys Police, she acknowledged: ‘Seven years after my mother’s loss of life, my brothers, my sons, myself and other contributors of the family, were scared and insecure to learn from the police that my mother, Mrs Betty Man, may perchance perchance per chance also honest no longer private died from pure causes and that my sister and her son were to be charged with her abolish.

‘Over the past three years the police private labored tirelessly to amass ample evidence to bring this case to court.

‘Now that the case has drawn to a shut we’re elated that justice has prevailed and now we can shut this very unhappy chapter in our lives.

‘All our thanks and gratitude lunge to Dyfed-Powys Police and the associated correct services in pursuing this case and bringing it to a winning conclusion.’ 

The Crown Prosecution Provider did no longer win a motive for the abolish of Betty Man. 

Jurors in the trial as an different heard in regards to the detailed backgrounds of Betty’s killers grandson Barry Rogers and mother Penelope John.   

Rogers became born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, and lived there along with his fogeys and younger brother and sister.

Rogers, now 33, attended college in the county city the put he particularly enjoyed maths courses but stumbled on it noteworthy to fabricate mates.

He acknowledged this became because after college he always had chores to fabricate or practising – on the behest of his father.

‘Working the roads, kickboxing,’ he rapid the jury at his Swansea Crown Court docket trial.

‘He wished to appear at out to fabricate me the supreme in the complete lot I did.’

The daddy-of-one acknowledged he had a ‘very violent’ relationship along with his father, Kevin John.

Rogers left home historical 17 in 2002 to be a part of the Royal Corps of Alerts as a technician and at around the identical time he modified his name from Barry Kevin John to Barry Rogers, taking his mother’s maiden name as his surname. 

Three years after joining he became deployed to Iraq the put he labored at a sizable nasty in Basra. 

He rapid girlfriends and his mother he shot somebody in Iraq but in court he claimed he had been in a automotive in Basra, considered one of four providing ‘top cloak’ with guns from the automotive.

Rogers acknowledged they were fired at and all four returned fire, killing a thirteen or 14-300 and sixty five days-ragged boy.

No evidence in regards to the incident became known as and Rogers acknowledged he may perchance perchance per chance no longer get dangle of into story the name of his commanding officer, the three other gunmen, or of who had performed the next investigation. 

Ex-girlfriends described him as a ‘compulsive liar’ – a trait which he admitted whereas giving evidence in the direction of the trial.

One in every of them, Sandra Adams, acknowledged: ‘When it came to his Military profession, I did now not genuinely contemplate half the issues he acknowledged that came about.’

Rhianne Morris, who became in a relationship with Rogers when his grandmother died in 2011, acknowledged he became angrier after her loss of life.

The court furthermore heard Rogers had made quite rather a lot of suicide makes an strive and had been an inpatient at a psychological successfully being facility for a timeframe in the direction of his relationship with Ms Adams.

Rogers rapid the jury he suffered from PTSD, borderline persona dysfunction, ‘intrusive suggestions’ and ‘abandonment concerns’ but no scientific expert became known as to give evidence on his behalf about any formal diagnoses.

On the day of Mrs Man’s loss of life, Rogers became living in Frome, Somerset, with Ms Morris.

He received a phone call from his mother telling him Mrs Man wished to appear at him.

Almost right now afterwards he left on the 163-mile traipse to his grandmother’s home in Johnston in Pembrokeshire.

John gave birth to Rogers when she became historical 17 – a 300 and sixty five days after she met his father Kevin John.

She married Kevin John right now after Rogers became born but rapid the trial the marriage became no longer a delighted one.

John acknowledged she suffered abuse in the direction of the relationship that left her with PTSD and an eating dysfunction.   

She acknowledged she became positioned in a girls’s refuge in Cardigan in Ceredigion and commenced divorce proceedings.

John acknowledged she labored as a supervisor of a sports store and later started her bear trade.

She took her mother to scientific appointments and spent a form of time with her, seeing her two to three times in the week and each and every weekend.

John added Mrs Man lived with her for approximately 5 months.

On the day Mrs Man died John received a call from her mother’s pal saying the eighty four-300 and sixty five days-ragged became asking for her.

She rapid the jury she drove straight to her mother’s home and they chatted and giggled sooner than going to mattress.