Mum Barbara Coombes slashed war hero dad’s throat with shovel and buried him in the garden over ‘paedo pics’
Mum-of-one Coombes, 63, was today jailed for nine years after she admitted the manslaughter of Kenneth Coombes, 87, by diminished responsibility - more than a decade after killing him in Stockport, Greater Manchester
A MUM-of one slashed her war hero dad's throat with a shovel before burying him in his back garden after catching him with child abuse images.
Barbara Coombes, 63, twice hit Kenneth Coombes, 87, over the head after finding a box of explicit images of children on the dining table.
Manchester Crown Court heard how the mum-of-one had been gardening at her father's home in Stockport in January 2006 before heading inside to find the box of photos.
The woman then confronted her elderly father in the lounge before using the shovel to batter him over the head, watching him bleed to death.
She then wrapped her father in a rug and buried his body under a tree - ordering a ton of soil to cover him the next day.
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.
His body lay undiscovered for 12 years until she walked into Reddish police station to admit her crime after council officials asked to see him.
Cops then searched the garden after her chilling confession, finding her father's body.
Today at Manchester Crown Court she pleaded guilty to her dad's manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
The court had heard how she concealed her father's death, fraudulently profiting from more than £180,000 in benefits.
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.
Sentencing Coombes to nine years, Mr Justice King said she told a "series of elaborate lies to cover your tracks".
She told her brother that Kenneth that he had died suddenly from a heart condition and was taken to hospital to be cremated.
Senior Investigating Officer Duncan Thorpe of GMP’s Major Incident Support Unit, said: “This is a tragic case in which an elderly man has been killed by his own daughter, who then went on to fraudulently claim benefits of over £180,000.
“She showed absolutely no concern for what she had done and denied everyone the chance to say goodbye, as Kenneth lay buried at the bottom of his own garden, just metres from her own bedroom window.
“Despite having years to tell someone what really happened, she only came forward when she had no other choice.
“The impact on the family and friends of all concerned cannot be underestimated. As these tragic events have come to an end I hope that the family can now move forward with their lives.”
Most read in news
Kenneth served with the RAF during the Second World War and would have been 87 at the time of his death 12 years ago.
At the time of the police search, former neighbour Terry Sever told the : "To my knowledge this man Kenneth just disappeared.
"I was not that friendly to ask where he went. I just did not see him anymore.”