Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 9
Stefania Glowka Cleared of 86-Year-Old Mother's Murder After Admitting Manslaughter
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 9

Stefania Glowka Cleared of 86-Year-Old Mother's Murder After Admitting Manslaughter

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 9

Summary

  • A Bristol Crown Court jury found 64-year-old Stefania Glowka not guilty of murdering her 86-year-old mother, Tamara, after she had already admitted manslaughter on diminished responsibility grounds.
  • Psychiatrists' evidence backed the defence case that Glowka's recurrent depressive disorder substantially impaired her judgment when she strangled her mother with a belt at their Devizes flat on Christmas Day 2025.
  • Police were called at 08:10 GMT after Glowka woke hours later from an apparent suicide attempt and dialed 999, saying she had committed a crime and needed to be held responsible.
  • The court heard Glowka had been her mother's primary carer since 2004; Tamara, who did not speak English, had suffered hallucinations and psychosis late in life.
  • Glowka, who told the court she could not go on caring for her mother, is due to be sentenced at 14:00 BST.

Insights

Her defense was depression after 20 years of care. Is this justice or a dangerous precedent?
When a caregiver kills, is it a private tragedy or a public health crisis?