Man Sentenced for Brutal Murder of His 75-Year-Old

Son, 42, bludgeoned his mother, 75, to death before turning her bedroom into a shrine and painting her toe nails, court hears

Dominic Whitton, a 42-year-old man, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years for murdering his 75-year-old mother, Pepita Garcia. The court heard that Whitton repeatedly beat his mother, leaving her with 76 fractures in the weeks leading up to her death.

Pepita Garcia, a vibrant and welcoming woman, was an artist, an avid Spanish dancer, and a member of a Buddhist group. She was a dedicated volunteer for the ‘Crop Drop’ vegetable box scheme and a local food bank.

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$Dominic Whitton, 42, repeatedly beat his mother leaving her with 76 fractures in the weeks leading up to her death$

However, her life took a tragic turn when her son, Dominic Whitton, started physically abusing her.

The police welfare check on September 18, 2024, found Pepita frail, bruised, and with two black eyes. Whitton was arrested for coercive control and handed strict bail conditions to stay away from the home.

Despite the bail conditions, Whitton returned to the property in October 2024, and the violence escalated. He fractured 17 of his mother’s ribs. Pathologist Professor Anthony Freemont likened her injuries to those suffered in a high-speed car crash or a fall from height.

Whitton denied harming his mother and said her broken bones resulted from her falling over. However, the medical evidence showed that she had endured around 67 fractures in the 10 weeks prior to her death, including multiple broken ribs, and bones in her nose, shoulder, and neck.

The court heard that Whitton had taken care to lay his mother’s body out on the bed, cover the body with a T-shirt and shorts, paint Pepita’s finger and toe nails, and lay flowers and herbs on and around the body.

This disturbing scene indicates that Whitton had a sense of loss and some remorse, alongside an inability to accept what he had done. The judge, Andrew Menary KC, said, “You took care to lay the body out on the bed, cover the body with a T-shirt and shorts, paint Pepita’s finger and toe nails, and lay flowers and herbs on and around the body. Those were not acts of concealment. The incense and candles were intended, as least in part, to conceal the stench of the decomposing body.”

Whitton was finally reported to a GP on the morning of January 13, 2025, in a panic, and said his mother had died before Christmas. The police attended the victim’s home in Reynardson Road and found her body lying on her bed in an advanced state of decomposition, indicating that she had been dead for some time.

Whitton has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years for murder. Taking into account the 534 days he has already spent on remand, he must serve 22 years and 196 days before he can be considered for parole. He will also remain on licence for the rest of his natural life, concluding that he will have to live with the guilt that he killed the one person who always defended him and who loved him unconditionally – his mother.

Source: Daily Mail