Man killed his mum then painted her nails as her body decomposed | UK | News
A man was accused of killing his mother and keeping her body in a temple of horror for weeks. Dominic Whitton, 42, from Tottenham, left 75-year-old artist Pepita Garcia with 76 fractures from repeated beatings in the weeks leading up to her death.
Ms. Garcia died in early December 2024, curled up in the corner of her bedroom, before Whitton painted her nails and turned the room into a “shrine” with candles and incense to mask the odor. The 42-year-old man did not report his mother’s death to police until six weeks later, on January 13, 2025.
In the time between killing her and reporting him, Whitton used his mother’s credit cards to visit bars, buy tickets to Tina Turner the Musical and book tours of Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium, The Telegraph reported.
He contacted a GP “in a panic” to inform them of his death in January, adding that he had passed away before Christmas.
Whitton was found guilty of murdering Ms Garcia and preventing the lawful and proper burial of her body following a trial at Wood Green Crown Court in May.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years.
Prosecutors told the court that Ms. Garcia’s body was found in an extremely decomposed state, with approximately 67 fractures, including broken ribs and broken bones in her nose, neck and shoulder.
Whitton had previously been arrested for coercive control after his mother’s friends were alarmed by his mother’s treatment of him and Ms Garcia was found with two black eyes during a police welfare check in September 2024, but she did not want her son to be prosecuted.
Ms Garcia was described in court as a “vibrant, welcoming woman” who volunteered at the local food bank, was a Spanish dancer and was a member of a Buddhist group.
Judge Andrew Menary KC told Whitton: “The last 10 weeks of Pepita’s life must have been miserable. “She was starving, weak, struggling to breathe and in constant pain.
“He was exposed to increasingly violent attacks by the son he loved and protected. He died alone on the floor in a corner of his room, without even saying a word of comfort. It was a brutal death.”
The judge added: “You will have to live with the guilt for killing the one person who always defended you and loved you unconditionally: your mother.”
