Chilling text sent week before callous killer beat her own grandma to death
A murderer killed her own grandmother with a garden spade days after texting her ex the pensioner had died.
Joanne Hussey, then 33, attacked Annie Garbutt, 76, with the implement as she lay asleep in her bed. The force shattered the pensioner's skull, and broke her breast bone and ribs and left Ms Garbutt in a pool of blood. The gruesome case is featured in a new podcast.
A court heard Hussey, of Yeadon, Leeds, tried to cover up her attack, but detectives found she was lying when she claimed an intruder must have broken into her grandma's property.
And one week before the killing in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, Hussey had sent a bizarre text to a male colleague and former boyfriend which said: "Got to Grandma's early and found her dead. Police have been and she has been taken away, head totally done in. In need of a friend."
Hussey was jailed for 20 years after a jury convicted the woman of murder. Sentencing at Leeds Crown Court, Judge Scott Wolstenholme said the murder had a considerable degree of pre-meditation, as well as an attempt by Hussey to cover up what she had done.
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He said: "You took a garden spade from your home and used it in a most brutal attack on your grandmother as she lay in her bed. You struck forceful blows with the spade repeatedly to her head, neck, upper body and limbs and continued to strike her when she tried to defend herself. She must have suffered greatly before losing consciousness. You then took considerable care to remove evidence that might connect you with the killing."
Annie Garbutt, 76, was the victim of 'most brutal attack' (BBC)Hussey attacked Mrs Garbutt as she slept on May 7, 2007. Her subsequent trial heard Hussey sat on top of the defenceless pensioner and rained blows down on her head and chest, causing horrific injuries.
She then drove home and tried to clean the murder weapon. She had a bath and got rid of her clothes. The following day she returned to the scene and pretended to have come across the murder scene, reports Yorkshire Live.
Forensic officers found Mrs Garbutt's blood in Hussey's bath and on the spade. Hussey had denied being involved but, faced with the evidence, changed her story and claimed she was suffering from a mental illness and had heard voices in her head.
It emerged that Hussey had been motivated by greed. She was worried that her grandma, who had Alzheimer's disease, would be going into her home and that her savings would be spent on her care, depriving Hussey of what she thought was her inheritance. The judge said there was no doubt that Hussey was suffering from mental illness - said to be bipolar disorder - and was not taking her prescribed medication.
He told Hussey: "The evidence does establish beyond reasonable doubt that you did expect to gain as a result of your grandmother's death. It's clear you wanted your grandmother's money to be available for your, and your mother's, use. You began to contemplate your grandmother's death as a way out of that dilemma."
After the case, Detective Superintendent Andy Brennan, of West Yorkshire Police, called it a particularly brutal and callous crime. He said Hussey had been motivated by greed.
Police described Hussey as an accomplished liar who had been motivated by greed. Mr Brennan said he was pleased with the sentence. He added: “I think the sentence is appropriate. The judge started off with 30 years, which reflected the seriousness of the fact that Joanne Hussey attacked her grandmother while she was at her most vulnerable in her own bed.
"The judge had to take into account her bipolar disorder and reduce her sentence to 20 years, but we are still very pleased with the result. I want to again praise the excellent work and dedication of the police and forensic scientists involved." The murder of Annie Garbutt is the subject of a new They Walk Among Us podcast. episode The podcast can be found here.
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