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JAILED

Who is Barbara Coombes, when did her father Kenneth go missing in Stockport and where is Matlock Road in Reddish?

Barbara Coombes, 63, has been jailed for nine years over the manslaughter of her father Kenneth in 2006

BARBARA Coombes has been jailed for the manslaughter of her dad after hitting him with a shovel and burying his body in a garden in 2006.

Here's what you need to know.

 Police outside the home in Stockport after Barbara Coombes faced court
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Police outside the home in Stockport after Barbara Coombes faced courtCredit: SWNS

Who is Barbara Coombes?

Barbara Coombes, 63, has been jailed for nine years on July 11 for her father Kenneth's manslaughter in 2006, after cops found his body in the garden of her Stockport home.

The mum-of-one was charged after a woman allegedly walked into Cheadle Heath Police Station in January 2018 and told police that a man had been killed "a number of years ago".

Officers then began to search the home in Reddish, discovering the remains of Barbara's father, former soldier Kenneth Coombes, in the garden.
Coombes had been accused of murdering her dad, as well as preventing the lawful and decent burial of a dead body.
The-63-year-old was also accused of fraud by false representation after allegedly claiming to be a carer of the elderly man for more than 10 years after his death.
On July 11, she appeared via video link at Manchester Crown Court and pleaded guilty to her dad's manslaughter by diminished responsibility and was jailed for nine years at Manchester Crown Court.
Sentencing Coombes to nine years, Mr Justice King said she told a "series of elaborate lies to cover your tracks".
 Barbara Coombes was jailed for nine years after fatally striking her father with a shovel
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Barbara Coombes was jailed for nine years after fatally striking her father with a shovelCredit: GMP

How did her father die?

Barbara Coombes, 63, twice hit Kenneth Coombes, 87, over the head with a shovel before slashing his throat, a court was told.

She watched him bleed to death and ordered a tonne of soil to bury him the following day, a court heard.

The court heard how in January 2006, Barbara Coombes had been gardening at her father’s home on Matlock Road in Stockport.

Coombes then went into the house and saw a box of photographs on the dining table, which she started looking through.

When she realised these were explicit images of a child, Coombes took the spade she had been using from the garden and confronted her 87-year-old father Kenneth in the lounge.

Coombes struck him in the back of the head first, then when he turned to face her, she struck him a second time with the spade.

 Barbara buried her father in the garden after killing the man more than a decade ago
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Barbara buried her father in the garden after killing the man more than a decade agoCredit: GMP

She then wrapped her father in a rug and dragged his body outside, where she buried him behind a tree.

The following day Coombes ordered a tonne of soil which was used to bury Kenneth in their back garden.

To explain her father’s sudden disappearance to the rest of the family, Coombes said Kenneth had died and the hospital had arranged for his cremation.

After the makeshift burial, Coombes cleared out Kenneth’s belongings from the house.

His body lay undiscovered for 12 years until she walked into Reddish police station in January this year to admit her crime after council officials asked to see him.

On the day of his death she felt a "black cloud" over her and hit him twice with a shovel in a "haze of disgust" while gardening.

In a statement to police Coombes said she had been mentally and physically abused by her dad since she was a child.

 A forensic tent in the garden of the home at the centre of the investigation
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A forensic tent in the garden of the home at the centre of the investigationCredit: SWNS

When did her father Kenneth go missing?

After the confession, cops were seen and issuing questionnaires to neighbours, asking them if they knew Mr Coombes, particularly focusing on the years 2004 and 2005.
Kenneth vanished in 2006 and the former soldier's remains were unearthed in Coombes' back garden by police in January.
 Kenneth Coombes, pictured as a young man during his time serving in Egypt
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Kenneth Coombes, pictured as a young man during his time serving in EgyptCredit: The Sun

Where is where is Matlock Road in Reddish?

Matlock road is a residential street in Reddish a suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester.

Reddish is about 2 miles north of the town of Stockport and about 4.6 miles south east of Manchester.

According to the 2011 UK census the area had a population of just over 28,000.

Woman, 63, charged with murder of her father and burying his body in the backyard of Stockport home


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