By Grâçia Ada Obi
An elderly woman Myra Thompson, 90, murdered in her own home by a carer who had been trusted to look after her. Jayne Hill, 52, had been suspended from her job after previously being caught stealing from Mrs Thompson’s home in Merseyside.
Hill entered her home, hit her over the head with a metal flask and then suffocated her with a pillow. Liverpool Crown Court heard that Hill killed her because she ‘wanted to remove her as a witness to the theft’.
“You hoped her death would somehow enable you to keep your job, and more significantly I’m sure you feared the matter might go further and involve a complaint to the police,” Judge Andrew Menary KC told Hill, who was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 22-and-a-half years in prison.
Hill, of Norwich Drive, Upton, pleaded guilty to murder and theft. Mrs Thompson was discovered in her home on Bolde Way, Spital, on April 23. After the hearing, Mrs Thompson’s friend and neighbour Ann Jarvis said: “I have lost all confidence and trust in the world and humanity itself, as I try to comprehend the brutal murder of my dear friend and neighbour Myra. Myra was like a sister to me and I keep replaying over and over this day, and the shock of hearing of her killing.
Myra had worked in a caring role all her life in Clatterbridge Cancer Unit, as well as caring for her disabled husband for 50 years. Myra was a trusting, kind, loyal and intelligent lady who never hurt anyone. Ever.
All Myra wanted and deserved was to spend the rest of her days in the comfort of her own home and be treated with the respect and dignity she has shown to others. Myra’s niece Anne Charters said following the sentencing of Hill: “As a family we are greatly relieved that the murder investigation into Myra’s death has finally come to an end, resulting in a fitting sentence for the accused, Jane Hill.
“To abuse a position of trust on someone as frail and vulnerable as my aunty Myra and to then confront her with such violence is something that has been incredibly upsetting and difficult to come to terms with. We can only imagine the terror she experienced during her final moments on the evening of 23 April in her own home, a place where she was supposed to be safe.
“We are hoping that now justice has been served, we can all move on and hope it will go some way towards helping everyone directly affected by this shocking case, to find some form of closure from what has ultimately been a living nightmare.”
Detective Inspector Dave Jones, of Merseyside Police, said: “This was the ultimate breach of trust from someone Myra trusted and it is truly shocking and despicable that Hill chose to carry out an attack on a frail and elderly woman who should have been safe in bed in her own home.
“This has obviously been a distressing time for Myra’s family and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them. Hill admitted being responsible for Myra’s death and today has rightly been sentenced for her monstrous actions.
“She has shown no remorse over the death of Myra but will now spend a considerable period of time behind bars to think about her actions on that night. No length of sentence will ever be able to bring Myra back but hopefully knowing justice has been served will come as some kind of comfort for all those who loved her.”