A 70-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years for murdering her sister and stealing her gold Rolex watch. Nancy Pexton was convicted at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for the murder of Jennifer Abbott, a 69-year-old film director, at her flat in Camden, London, on 10 June last year.
Sentencing Pexton on Friday, Judge Dhir described the attack as “ferocious” and noted that Pexton had shown no remorse. The judge stated: “Your actions and conduct after the killing demonstrates not only your absence of remorse but also a deliberate and callous attitude towards what you had done.” The court heard that Pexton stabbed Abbott ten times and left her body to be discovered three days later.
The judge highlighted that Pexton taped her sister’s mouth, calling it a “deliberate act of degradation” that was “callous, demeaning and cruel”. She added: “This act demonstrates the depth of your animosity and hostility towards your sister. You took the watch because it was valuable and because you were jealous of your sister’s greater financial security.”
Abbott was last seen on a doorbell camera returning from walking her corgi, Prince, at 7.36am on 10 June. Pexton spoke to her by phone at 11.36am, then travelled by bus to Abbott’s flat in Mornington Place at 12.45pm, leaving an hour later. She subsequently called her GP, reported taking an overdose, and was taken to hospital, where she was arrested on 18 June.
Abbott’s partially naked body was found on the living room floor with gaffer tape over her mouth and a large, “slash-type” wound across her neck. Her Rolex, a gift from her son, Brad Carlson, which she never removed, was missing. Police recovered the watch from Pexton’s bag in hospital. When questioned, Pexton claimed she had been given it to “look after”.
Carlson told the court of a “bubbling” resentment between his mother and aunt. Giving evidence via video link, he said: “There was interaction and sometimes anger and hostility between my mother and Nancy, there was resentment seemingly bubbling up.”
