Retired detective, 66, was driven by hatred to smother his frail 88-year-old mother

John Stephen Green, 66, was unable to wait any longer for his mother Bernadette to die so he murdered her at their family home in Preston, Lancashire, on May 18. Undated mug shot 

A retired detective driven by hatred to smother his elderly and frail 88-year-old mother has been jailed for a minimum of 14 years.

John Stephen Green, 66, was unable to wait any longer for his mother Bernadette to die so he murdered her at their family home in Preston, Lancashire, on May 18.

Green initially convinced authorities his mother died of old age, but a coroner’s officer noted Mrs Green had not seen a doctor since October 2013 – and a closer examination of her emaciated body revealed a number of pressure sores.

A post-mortem was ordered and concluded Mrs Green had been smothered and that an extensive area of rotting blackened skin around her buttocks was evidence of ‘severe neglect’.

Green’s motive for the killing was then uncovered in a series of text messages he sent to his daughter, Preston Crown Court heard.

On New Year’s Eve last year, he wrote: ‘Just told the cow what she is. If that bitch doesn’t die before I get my life back I am going to be the nastiest poltergeist the UNIVERSE has EVER seen.’

Just five days before Mrs Green’s death, he texted: ‘Been a grim and gruesome five weeks here. Last two weeks horrendous, she’s at death’s door but nobody’s opening it. Shouldn’t be allowed.’

Hours after she died, he wrote: ‘That’s it sweetheart. It was a slow, miserable, messy end but she’s finally gone. Now to something more important…’

In other text messages from 2015 – not put before the jury for legal reasons – he wrote: ‘Why does this motherf***** take the joy out of life. I need to be free’ and ‘This f***ing thing is flatly refusing to die. I am going to have to kill it’.

Prosecutor Francis McEntree said Green had portrayed himself to neighbours in Inkerman Street as a ‘caring and attentive son’, but in reality he was full of animosity for his mother who he saw as a burden.

The former CID officer with Lancashire Constabulary, who left the force on health grounds, was sole carer for his mother in an estranged family after she injured herself in a fall shortly after he returned home in 2009 following the failure of his marriage.

Green dialled 999 on the evening of May 18 and told an operator that attempts at resuscitation would be pointless as he was certain she was already dead.

Mrs Green’s body was found under dirty bedding within a ‘generally cluttered and dirty room’, which Green explained was due to self-neglect as he claimed his mother had given up on life following the death of his father.

The defendant then proceeded to cremate his mother, a strong Roman Catholic, with no service and simply scattered her ashes.

When he was arrested the following month, Green questioned the post-mortem findings and said: ‘Did the pathologist look at the right body?’

He denied neglecting or smothering her and suggested she died of old age or accidental suffocation.

Some of the hateful comments Green made about his elderly mother in text messages sent to his daughter. This is an artist's impression 

Some of the hateful comments Green made about his elderly mother in text messages sent to his daughter. This is an artist’s impression 

Giving evidence, Green said the text messages were ‘silly talk’ and he was merely ‘letting off steam’.

Jurors took less than three hours to convict Green of murder.

Giving a life sentence to Green, Judge Mark Brown, the Recorder of Preston, told him: ‘There is no doubt in my mind that during the last few weeks of her life she [Mrs Green] was severely neglected.

‘The only explanation for such neglect is that you hoped to hasten her decline and perhaps death by it.

‘It seems you did what you could to prevent other people from seeing her and took no positive steps to ensure she received proper medical treatment. Eventually you decided to smother her.

‘I am satisfied this was not a mercy killing and nor was it a killing in a moment of frustration and despair.

‘Your mother was a good age, but was entitled to live out the rest of her life to the full. There were no natural diseases or reasons to suggest she might not have lived for some further time had she been cared for properly.

‘You are a former police officer and it is astonishing that such an individual with that background would have done what you did to your own mother.’

Giving evidence in court Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour described in shocking detail the condition of Mrs Green’s body after her death.

Dr Armour, who conducted the post mortem, described how necrosis – blackened rotting skin – was found on her body, which was covered in faeces.

She said Mrs Green’s last known weight when she was alive was 12st but that she had dropped to 5 stone 10lbs by the time of her death.

Hate-filled texts sent by former detective who killed his elderly mother

Here are the hate-filled text messages which revealed the motive for retired policeman John Stephen Green to smother his 88-year-old mother Bernadette in her bed.

The texts were sent to his daughter who had not seen her grandmother for several years, but wanted to maintain some contact with her estranged father.

– September 2013: ‘What the f***ing hell did I do so wrong to get such a bitch of a mother.’

– November 2013: ‘If the walnut does not die tonight I am going to kill her.’

– January 2014: ‘I’ll kill her. I f***ing mean it, I’ll f***ing kill it.’

– April 2014: ‘Just watching it die of old age.’

– September 2014: ‘F***ing hate her… I hate its f***ing guts.’

– 2015: ‘This f***ing is flatly refusing to die. I am going to have to kill it.’

– March 2015: ‘Why does this motherf**** take the joy out of life. I need to be free.’

– November 2016: ‘This is effing mental. When does it die? It’s orribubble.’

– February 2017: ‘I hate her. I really, really hate her. What a god awful bitch is she.’

– March 2017: ‘Bugger’s still alive. How do I holiday? She’s wrecked, hate her but I’m stuck with responsibility. One day eh?’

– December 2017: ‘Just told the cow what she is. If that bitch doesn’t die before I get my life back I am going to be the nastiest poltergeist the UNIVERSE has EVER seen.’

– April 2018: ‘Ain’t that just typical? Sods law. I’ve got out for a short while, I’m looking after a stinking corpse. Hey ho.’

– May 13, 2018: ‘Been a grim and gruesome five weeks here. Last two weeks horrendous, she’s at death’s door but nobody’s opening it. Shouldn’t be allowed.’

– May 13, 2018: ‘She’s not been out of bed for weeks, 99 per cent comatose. Got to strip the bed and her, clean her and put it all back together again, bloody difficult. There’s no alternative. Medics can do nothing.’

– May 18, 2018: ‘ That’s it sweetheart. It was a slow, miserable, messy end but she’s finally gone. Now to something more important…’

Dr Amour found multiple pinprick sized blotchy haemorrhages in her mouth and throat, indicating that she had been smothered.

She hadn’t seen a doctor since October 2013 and John had turned down all opportunities for medical assistance. 

Green showed no emotion as sentence was passed.

Speaking after the sentencing, Det Chief Inspector Geoff Hurst of Lancashire Constabulary, said: ‘This is an abhorrent case where a man who should have been caring for his elderly, vulnerable mother instead neglected her and ultimately took her life so he could be free of his perceived burden of caring for her.

‘Green denied his involvement throughout despite significant evidence to the contrary and I would like to thank the jury for carefully considering all the evidence and arriving at this decision.

‘We welcome his conviction and hope it brings some justice to Mrs Green’s family and friends.’ 

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