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Amato Wright |
Life sentence for crack addict who killed mum
Judge condemns ‘horrific’ stabbing and matricide of 71-year-old
A CRACK cocaine addict who tortured his mother before stabbing her to death was jailed for life on Friday.
Telecom engineer Amato ‘Martin’ Wright, 39, was desperate for cash to fund his £400-a-day habit, the Old Bailey heard.
Judge Giles Forrester branded the killing as “horrific” and ordered him to serve a minimum of 28 years before even being able to apply for parole. But Wright was warned he may never be freed.
The court heard despite her kindness in giving him thousands of pounds and putting up with the constant torment of his addiction, divorcee Maria Wright, a 71 year old pensioner, was attacked without mercy.
She was left in a pool of blood at the £600,000 terraced home she shared with her son in Harmood Street, Chalk Farm.
Detective Inspector John Reid said: “I regret another example of a close and loving family torn apart and destroyed by the curse of drugs.
“Maria was a frail and vulnerable woman who had in her life been a hard working and devoted mother who cared deeply for her children.
“Her life was taken from her by her own son and in a most brutal and sustained attack, carried out in her home by the person who she had worked all her life to support.”
Wright admitted murder, although the court heard he tried to hoodwink doctors into believing he was mentally unstable at the time and had no recollection of the killing.
A heavy cannabis user before turning to crack cocaine seven years ago, Wright attacked his mother, 4ft 11ins and slight, after she had taken him out for a meal on March 15 last year.
They had also been to a West End casino where she was a regular and had won £2,000 at roulette.
Mrs Wright, who has two daughters and worked in the ladies’ wear department of the John Lewis store in Oxford Street before her retirement, was repeatedly ‘pricked’ with a knife.
Her skull was fractured and she suffered 40 hammer blows. Two of Mrs Wright’s teeth had been knocked out and she had a fracture to one hand.
She was bludgeoned with the hammer and stabbed. She suffered 14 broken ribs and 15 head injuries in addition to knife wounds.
Crude attempts had been made to clean up the house but the weapons used were found in a cupboard under the stairs.
The injuries, described as ‘controlled’ by pathologist Dr Vesna Djurovich, were allegedly to force her into revealing the codes to five credit cards which were found by police in a wooden bowl on the front room table.
The court heard that Wright had bought 12 rocks of crack – each costing £20 – and after the murder he showered, took £200 from her bank account and went to a local dealer to buy more drugs with a girl he named as Stacey.
At breakfast time on March 16, he walked into Kentish Town police station, handed over the house keys and confessed.
He said he could only recall finding his mother’s body ‘covered in blood’ on her bedroom floor and believed he was having ‘a ghastly nightmare’.
Judge Forrester told him: “This was the murder of someone doing her very best to help you. It is difficult to understand how anyone could contemplate doing that to their own mother.”
Wright and his family lived at the house for 30 years.
He admitted the murder count as long ago as September last year and has been assessed by various psychiatrists who concluded there is nothing mentally wrong with him.
Judge Forrester concluded “I’ve no doubt this was a murder done for gain.”
The term had been reduced from 30 years because of his guilty plea and because he surrendered to police instead of going on the run.
Defence QC Vincent Coughlin said: “His remorse must be somewhat diminished. This was an appalling crime which goes against the very nature of being a human being.”
Mr Coughlin also maintained that any ‘torture’ element had not been proved.
Wright’s sisters Gratzia and Anna were not in the area on the night their beloved, Italian-born mum, fiercely houseproud and a keen gardener well-liked in the community, was killed.
Prosecutor Nicholas Hilliard told the court that Wright sold his own valuables to fund his addiction.
He had also stolen “money, property and bank cards from his mother.”
In 2004, Mrs Wright dropped a complaint to police after he stole and pawned her jewellery, including her wedding ring, which was never redeemed.
Giving evidence Wright, speaking publicly for the first time about the murder, said: “That’s not what I call stealing.”
He said his relationship with his mum was ‘very close’ – but obviously hampered by his addiction. He was working for a City law firm and spending his earnings on crack. |
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