Woman given indefinite hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter

A woman has been given a hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter in East Lancashire.

Zoe Crowther was unlawfully killed on January 3 by a woman who claimed to be her friend.

That woman - Janet Connor – was today given an indefinite hospital order at Preston Crown Court after earlier pleading guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

Police were called to a ground floor flat in Walmsley Close, Church, at 12:25pm on 14^th January following a concern for welfare call relating to a smell coming from the property.

The officer in attendance knocked on the door a number of times but when she failed to get an answer climbed through the open kitchen window.

Once inside the property she saw Connor and when she walked into the living room found Zoe’s body.

Connor then made an immediate and unprompted admission, stating: “I need to tell you summat…I've done something bad…I've killed her”. 

During the 15 minutes which followed, Connor said that Zoe's body had been in the flat for a week, and she was glad that the police were there.

Connor made further admissions during her police interview.

A Home Office postmortem examination found Zoe had died as a result of a stab wound to the neck. However, the pathologist had found multiple stab wounds to the head and neck.

Enquiries found that Connor had committed the offence 11 days earlier on 3^rd January and that she had continued to live in the flat while Zoe lay in situ.

Zoe had been in contact with the police earlier in the day and an officer attended the property. We have referred ourselves to the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) in relation to that contact and their investigation is ongoing.

Zoe also called a friend on two separate occasions. On the first occasion Zoe said Connor was hitting her and that they were arguing about a television.

Zoe called the same woman again 11 minutes later at 11.17pm and she said she could hear a scuffle and Zoe asking for help.

Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Connor, 54, of Walmsley Close, Church, was charged with Zoe’s murder.

However, she later pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

She was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.

DCI Andy Fallows, from our Force Major Investigation Team, said: “Today marks the end of our investigation into what was the horrific killing of a mother-of-three. My thoughts are with Zoe’s family, particularly her children, who have understandably been profoundly impacted by untimely and brutal ending of their mother’s life.”