In a case that has shocked the nation, a 24-year-old university student has been found guilty of brutally murdering his own mother in a vicious shower attack mere days after returning from a family holiday.
Matthew Zelinsky, a student at the University of York, carried out the unprovoked assault on his 56-year-old mother, Greta Zelinska, in the family home in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The Old Bailey heard how the attack was so ferocious that the knife used was bent out of shape during the sustained onslaught.
A Family Holiday Turns to Tragedy
The court was told that the family had just returned from a holiday in Lithuania, with no apparent signs of the horror that was to follow. In a shocking act of violence, Zelinsky ambushed his mother in the shower, stabbing her repeatedly in the neck and chest.
Emergency services rushed to the scene on July 29th last year, but despite their best efforts, Greta Zelinska was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple catastrophic knife wounds.
Mental Health Defence Rejected
Zelinsky had pleaded not guilty to murder, with his defence claiming he was suffering from an "abnormality of mental functioning" linked to autism spectrum disorder. However, the jury rejected this argument after hearing compelling evidence from the prosecution.
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC revealed the devastating impact on the family, stating: "The defendant has killed his mother and the grandmother of his sister's children. He has deprived his sister of her mother and his father of his wife."
The court heard how the defendant's sister discovered their mother's body in the bathroom, a scene described as utterly traumatic for the family.
A Life Cut Short
Greta Zelinska was remembered as a beloved family member whose life was tragically cut short. The victim's daughter expressed the family's unimaginable grief, stating they are "serving a life sentence" without their mother.
Judge Angela Rafferty KC has remanded Zelinsky in custody ahead of sentencing, describing the case as "extremely sad and difficult for everyone involved."
The case has raised serious questions about mental health support and family violence, leaving a community in mourning and a family forever shattered by this tragic event.
