Nottingham man jailed for killing woman in car park

Nottingham Crown Court heard Gary Parnell had a number of previous convictions, including some for violence

A man who killed a woman by hitting her and causing her head to strike a wall has been jailed.

Nottingham Crown Court heard Gary Parnell and Deborah Jones were drinking with others at the Metro car park on Union Road on at 23:00 BST on 1 August.

Parnell, 59, struck Ms Jones after she threw beer on him when he allegedly made a racist comment about her friend, the court heard.

The mother-of-three, 48, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Parnell, who the court heard was in an on-off relationship with Ms Jones, had admitted manslaughter at a previous hearing and was jailed for six years and nine months on Monday.

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The daughter of Deborah Jones said she had lost her mother, grandmother to her children, best friend and confidant

The court heard Ms Jones - who was also known as Deborah Hendrick - had a previous head injury from 2014 and another more recently, which made her particularly vulnerable to further damage.

Judge John Burgess, sentencing Parnell, said: "Deborah Jones died as a result of a subdural haemorrhage caused by blows to the head or face. Those blows were delivered by you.

"There was clearly an intention on your part to cause her some harm. You must have known she had a previous head injury."

Ms Jones was pronounced dead by paramedics at the Metro car park in Union Road

In a victim impact statement, Ms Jones's daughter Amanda Hendrick said she had lost her mother "all down to one man's inability to control his jealousy and anger".

Ms Hendrick said her mother's "love was boundless" and "no matter how she punished herself, she always gave to others".

She said: "For all the hardships my mother had faced, she was still a woman who fed me chicken soup when I was sick, held my hand while I was in labour, attended my children's first nativity plays, and helped her homeless friends, sometimes with her last pound coin."