A 64-year-old woman who killed her father after discovering his stash of indecent images of children has been sentenced to nine years in prison. Barbara Coombes struck Kenneth Coombes, 87, with a shovel at their family home in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in January 2006.
Manchester Crown Court heard that Coombes 'snapped' after enduring 40 years of physical and verbal abuse from her father, a former RAF serviceman and Second World War veteran. Feeling 'utterly disgusted and mortified' by the images, she walked into the living room and hit him twice with the shovel, cutting his throat. She then wrapped his body in a carpet and buried it in the back garden.
For over a decade, Coombes lied to family, doctors, and authorities, continuing to claim nearly £190,000 of her father's benefits. The body remained undiscovered until she walked into a local police station on 7 January 2018 and confessed. Officers later found Mr Coombes' remains in the garden, where Coombes had continued to live.
Coombes pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Psychiatric reports indicated she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depressive illness. The court heard that on the day of the killing, she had been gardening as ordered by her father before discovering the images.
After the killing, Coombes told her daughter that her grandfather had died of blood poisoning and that the hospital had arranged the cremation. She continued to claim his pension and carer's allowance, and even phoned the dentist pretending to be his wife. Suspicion arose in autumn 2017 when a housing officer tried to arrange a welfare visit for Mr Coombes, who would have been 99, prompting Coombes to confess.
