Bilston man killed his mother using cabinet door

Matthew Page has been jailed for killing his mother

A man beat his mother to death with a cabinet door, using so much force that it broke, a court heard.

Matthew Page also kicked and punched Mary Page, 68, when he set upon her after a row about her drinking.

He went to bed after the attack, according to a police statement on Monday, before confessing to his brother the following day.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court earlier, Page was jailed for six years and eight months.

He had admitted manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.

The court heard Page had an autism spectrum disorder, likely Asperger's, which was not diagnosed until after his arrest.

It meant, the hearing was told, he acted in "extremely restrictive" patterns and change caused him "distress".

Mary Page had barricaded herself in a bedroom, the court heard

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Mrs Page had problems with alcohol and her mental health, the court heard, and her issues had become a source of tension for her 40-year-old son.

He attacked her at the pair's shared home on St James Street, Bilston, Wolverhampton, in January.

Peter Grieves-Smith, prosecuting, said Page had attempted to stop his mother drinking, but she continued, which had "irritated" him, adding Page struggled with the way her "behaviour impacted on his life".

Barricaded in bedroom

On the night of her death, Page returned from work and saw signs she had been drinking.

She was in her bedroom, from where she told him not to enter as she was drunk, barricading herself inside using a bedside cabinet.

The court heard he decided to enter because she had previously made suicide attempts, and there she was found intoxicated.

"Losing control", Mr Grieves-Smith said, Page kicked her, then punched her, and struck her with the cabinet's door so hard it broke.

Page then cleaned up his mother's blood, later telling police it was to protect his brother from seeing the scene.

He then placed her in bed, wrapping a towel around her wounds.

The next day, he confessed to his brother and asked to be taken to a police station.

Adam Kane, for Page, said he was "shrivelled by guilt and remorse".