A 42-year-old man, Dominic Whitton, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years for the murder of his mother, 75-year-old artist Pepita Garcia. Whitton was also convicted of preventing the lawful and decent burial of her body.

The court heard that Whitton repeatedly beat his mother, causing 76 fractures in the weeks leading up to her death. During this period, he was on police bail for controlling and coercive behavior. Ms. Garcia's body was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition in her bedroom, which Whitton had transformed into a shrine.

Prosecutor Steven Perian KC described the scene at the victim's Reynardson Road home, where police found Ms. Garcia's body on her bed. The room contained incense burners, herbs, and candles, which were used in an attempt to mask the smell of decomposition. Her fingernails and toenails had been painted, and fresh flowers were placed around and on her body. A meal was also prepared and placed on a tray in the room.

Medical evidence indicated that Ms. Garcia had sustained approximately 67 fractures in the ten weeks prior to her death, including multiple broken ribs and injuries to her nose, shoulder, and neck. A healed fracture in her neck suggested a prior attempt at strangulation. The judge noted that the last ten weeks of Ms. Garcia's life were likely filled with misery, pain, and weakness due to starvation and assaults.

Despite the state of her body, Whitton continued with his normal activities, using his mother's credit cards to book a stadium tour and a theater show, and visiting pubs. He reported his mother's death to a general practitioner on January 13, 2025, claiming she had died before Christmas.

Friends and neighbors had previously raised concerns about Whitton's physical abuse of his mother, with one friend calling the police in 2020. A welfare check on September 18, 2024, found Ms. Garcia frail, bruised, and with two black eyes. Whitton was arrested for coercive control and given bail conditions to stay away from the home, but he violated these conditions almost immediately. Ms. Garcia had expressed a desire not to have her son prosecuted.

After Whitton returned to the property in October 2024, the violence intensified, leading to 17 of his mother's ribs being fractured. A pathologist compared her injuries to those sustained in a high-speed car crash or a fall from a height. Whitton claimed his mother's broken bones were the result of falls.

While the judge acknowledged Whitton's personality disorders, including paranoid, borderline, and narcissistic traits, he emphasized that the coercive and controlling behavior, which escalated to violent assaults, was the most aggravating factor. Whitton denied all charges but was found guilty by a jury. He has already spent 534 days on remand and must serve 22 years and 196 days before being eligible for parole. He received a concurrent three-year sentence for preventing a lawful and decent burial. The judge stressed that Whitton will remain on license for the rest of his life.