Bodybuilder, 31, with ‘roid rage’ who strangled grandmother to death in her home in random attack and then hid half-naked in bushes outside a school is jailed for nine years
- Chase Kelly, 31, throttled Mildred Whitmore, 84, to death on June 1 last year
- Kelly had downed half a bottle of vodka and amphetamines before the attack
- He admitted manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility last month
- Warwick Crown Court heard he carried out random killing in psychotic episode
A ‘roid rage’ bodybuilder who strangled a great grandmother to death in her own home after downing a bottle of vodka and amphetamines has been jailed for more than nine years.
Chase Kelly, 31, brutally throttled 84-year-old Mildred Whitmore in a random attack in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, at around 9am on June 1 last year, after ‘suffering a psychotic episode.’
He was found around an hour later half-naked hiding in the bushes outside a school, before medics discovered he had taken ten times the recommended dose of his prescribed amphetamine, used to treat his PTSD.
It later emerged he had also been taking steroids orally and injecting them, and had earlier been to the nearby George Eliot Hospital after suffering from high blood pressure, but had discharged himself.
Kelly, of Arley, Warwickshire, admitted manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility at Warwick Crown Court in June.
He was jailed on Tuesday for a minimum of nine years and nine months.
Ms Whitmore’s family said in an impact statement that they will have to live with her death ‘for the rest of our lives’, adding that ‘no sentence would be enough’ after her ‘safe haven turned into a place of terror in her final moments.’
Chase Kelly (pictured), 31, brutally throttled 84-year-old Mildred Whitmore in a random attack in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, on June 1 last year, after ‘suffering a psychotic episode’
Ms Whitmore’s family said in an impact statement that they will have to live with her death ‘for the rest of our lives’, adding that ‘no sentence would be enough’ after her ‘safe haven turned into a place of terror in her final moments.’ (Pictured: Tragic Mildred Whitmore)
The court heard how police scrambled to Ms Whitmore’s home in College Street after receiving a call at 9.10am from a worried neighbour.
Officers arrived and found the body of the 5ft-tall ‘queen of the family’ – as her loved ones often called her – on the floor with her cardigan draped over her face.
A manhunt was launched and at 10am police found a half-naked Kelly hiding in bushes outside a school nearby.
The hulking thug, who did not know Ms Whitmore or her family, had cuts and bruises to his arms and legs and was arrested on suspicion of murder.
The court heard Kelly killed Ms Whitmore while experiencing a psychotic episode triggered by the drugs and booze in his system.
After sentencing, the victim’s heartbroken family paid tribute to her and blasted ‘brutal’ Kelly for causing her ‘terror in her final moments’.
They said: ‘We have no words to describe how Chase Kelly has caused us to feel.
‘Kelly took the life of our mother Mildred in such a brutal way and that loss is unbearable. Collectively as a family, our hearts are broken at the thought that we will never see her again.’
They said that Kelly can ‘never take away the memories’ of their ‘caring mother and great grandmother’, which will ‘keep them strong through the dark times ahead.’
They added: ‘Our mother Mildred always played a big part in our lives, she was always there to offer love, care, and affection to all.
‘Being in her company made us feel very safe and loved, she was the beating heart of our small family.
‘Knowing that our mother was brutally attacked in her own home leaves us devastated as a family. A place which was always her safe haven, turned into a place of terror in her final moments.’
The family said they will ‘have to live’ with her Ms Whitmore’s brutal death ‘until the end of our own lives.’
Kelly, of Arley, Warwickshire, admitted manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility at Warwick Crown Court last month (Pictured: Police guard crime scene outside home of Ms Whitmore)
Detective Inspector Collette O’Keefe, from Warwickshire Police, said: ‘This was a tragic and senseless death of a much-loved lady, who is clearly missed by her family and friends’ (Pictured: Scene of killing)
They added that nobody should be attacked in their own home, let alone and ‘an 84-year-old, 5ft, defenceless lady.’
The grief-stricken family said they were ‘proud’ of how independent Ms Whitmore lived and how she ‘always kept herself fit and healthy.’
They added: ‘We as a family fully believe that our Mum would have still of had a number of years of her life to look forward to, if it had not been so cruelly taken away from her in the early hours of the 1 June 2021.
‘No sentence will ever be enough in our eyes for what happened to our mother.
‘No other family should have to go through the pain that we have been dealing with and will have to deal with for the rest of our lives.’
Detective Inspector Collette O’Keefe, from Warwickshire Police, said: ‘This was a tragic and senseless death of a much-loved lady, who is clearly missed by her family and friends.
‘This has been an incredibly difficult time for everyone who knew her, and Mildred’s family has acted with dignity throughout the investigation and subsequent court proceedings.
Kelly also pleaded guilty to assaulting a man in Ryton on Dunsmore, Warwickshire, in November 2020.
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