Man who murdered his mother given life sentence

Callum Thomas was given a life sentence for murdering his mother

A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of murdering his mother in her Plymouth home.

Callum Thomas, 33, was told on Tuesday by Judge Peter Johnson in Plymouth Crown Court he would serve a minimum of 12 years in jail.

In July, a jury heard Thomas had been violent towards Debra Cantrell, 58, and had voiced threats about killing her "over a number of years".

Her body was found a few weeks after she was believed to have been killed in May 2023.

Debra Cantrell, 58, was found stabbed to death at her home in Plymouth in 2023

Judge Johnson told Thomas: "At the time you were unwell, vulnerable and suffering from considerable stress when your accommodation unexpectedly fell through."

Ms Cantrell's family told the court: "She did not deserve to have her life cut short.

"Callum was unwell but not that unwell not to have known what he was doing."

Thomas, of no fixed abode, had denied murdering his mother but had admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.