London, June 10: A British boy allegedly struck his mother to death with a bat, after she became engaged to a man eight months after the death of his father.
James Gethen, 15, allegedly killed his mother a few hours after she announced her engagement on her Facebook.
The accused suffered from meningitis, which may have affected his behavior, reports said. The boy has a record of being in trouble including throwing a brick into a neighbor’s home and being sexually abusive to peers.
Prosecutor Michael Smith told the Daily Mail: “It involved a sustained and savage attack on his mother in the living room of the family home during the course of which the defendant used a baseball bat to strike a number of blows to her head which killed her almost instantaneously.”
His father, Eric, died of cancer a few months ago. Gethen, who had a very close relationship with his father, was reportedly devastated and started smoking and drinking.
According to his consultant psychologists, James still hears the voice of his father from the grave.
The hearing was adjourned while James was sent to local authority accommodation.
–Agencies