Man beat mother to death with cabinet then went to bed

Matthew Page jailed for six years and eight months after 'explosion of violence'

Matthew Page (PA / West Midlands Police)

A man has been jailed for more than six years after beating his mother to death with a cabinet.

Matthew Page attacked and killed Mary Page at the family home they shared before going to bed, West Midlands Police said.

The 40-year-old van driver had punched, kicked and struck his 68-year-old mother with the piece of furniture during the violent onslaught at the house in James Street, Bilston, on 31 January.

The following day he confided in a relative and handed himself into police. Officers went to the address, near Wolverhampton, and found Ms Page in her bedroom with serious head injuries.

Her son was jailed for six years and eight months at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday, having admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at an earlier hearing.

The court heard Page had an autism spectrum disorder, most likely Asperger syndrome, which was only diagnosed after his arrest in January.

Judge Amjad Nawaz said Page had lost “control” following an argument over his mother’s drinking, and hit her so forcefully with a cabinet door that it shattered.

Mary Page, 68, attacked and killed by her son in January (PA / West Midlands Police)

“He was not able to exercise self control and he launched a sustained and violent attack in his mother,” the judge said, according to Birmingham Live. “He kicked her to the face and can remember her saying ‘finish it’.

“There were many blows and he then picked up a door to hit her with, the item broke and there were splinters of wood found at the scene … It was a short explosion of violence resulting in fatal injuries.”

Detective Inspector Jim Colclough, from West Midlands Police’s homicide unit, said: “This is a tragic case that has had a devastating effect on all of those involved in Mary’s life.

“Page will lose his freedom for a number of years, but his family will bear the consequences of his actions for a lifetime.”

Additional reporting by PA