Beaten to death with an iron

May Thrower, 83, struck Olive Garvie at least 12 times on the head and in the face.

Staff at Coniscliffe residential home, in Jesmond, Newcastle, discovered Thrower covered in blood, standing over Miss Garvie.

Miss Garvie had a ruptured left eye, fractured nose, eye socket and skull, as well as cuts on her head.

She was not well enough to be operated on and never regained consciousness. She died in hospital on February 25 last year, nearly three weeks after the attack.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how care home staff believed Thrower was a lonely spinster who had gone to the home for company during her twilight years.

But Toby Hedworth, prosecuting, told the court that her lost records would have revealed she was suffering from a psycopathic disorder and had spent years in secure mental hospitals, including Rampton and Ashworth.

She was convicted of grevious bodily harm in 1995 after attacking a woman in her 80s with a chair leg.

Thrower was arrested on suspicion of murder and told police she had lashed out because Miss Garvie had pushed her out of her room when she wandered in during the night.

Thrower pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished resonsibility. The murder charge was dropped after she admitted the lesser charge.

Defence barrister Paul Sloan said experts agreed Thrower was suffering an abnormality of the mind at the time of the killing.

Judge David Hodson described the attack as ferocious and sentenced Thrower to a hospital order for an indefinite period.

Miss Garvie's sister, Margaret, 91 at the time of the attack and who lived in the same care home, said: "I have lost my best friend, my sister, the only thing I had left."

A spokesman for Newcastle City Council said: "Before anyone is admitted to residential care the local authority seeks to provide relevant and full information.

"On conclusion of the criminal proceedings, we will consider whether further improvements to procedures are required."