Pictured: 'Defenceless' widow, 90, suffocated to death by her carer

A 'defenceless' 90-year-old widow was battered over the head with a stainless steel flask by a callous carer who then suffocated her to death after being caught stealing £40 from her handbag.

Jayne Hill, 52, who was today jailed for life, was one of a team of carers who were supposed to be looking after Myra Thompson at her townhouse before being suspended when a hidden camera exposed her as a thief.

But on April 23, retired hospital scientist Mrs Thompson - described by neighbours as a 'bright woman' who was 'not easily fooled' - was found dead at the property in Spital, Merseyside.

A postmortem revealed that the 'defenceless' pensioner – who stood 5ft 3in tall and weighed just 6st 9lb - had been struck over the head with a metal flask, then asphyxiated.

Hill was today ordered to serve a minimum of 22.5 years of a life sentence behind bars. She spent 168 days on remand which will be deducted from her custodial term.

A friend of Mrs Thompson who had power of attorney made cash withdrawals on her behalf before placing the money in the victim's handbag. 

The friend suspected that money was being stolen, and with Mrs Thompson's consent installed CCTV cameras in her home – catching Hill stealing £40 on April 12.

She was reported to police and suspended from her job at a care agency three days later.

After being arrested 12 hours after Mrs Thompson was found dead, Hill initially denied being involved, even after being told that her mobile phone had been located being used in the vicinity on the night of the killing.

However during her third interview, Hill said she had let herself into the house at around 11pm on April 22, claiming her intention was to ask Mrs Thompson to reconsider her complaint and offering to repay the money.

She crept upstairs to Mrs Thompson's darkened bedroom at which the pensioner began shouting out in alarm, she told police.

Hill picked up a stainless steel flask beside her bed and hit her over the head in an effort to silence her, the court heard.

But that did not stop the shouting so she put a pillow over Mrs Thompson's face until she stopped struggling.

However prosecutor Nicholas Johnson, KC, today told Liverpool Crown Court that Hill had arrived outside Mrs Thompson's home at around 8.45pm on the night of the killing – illustrating that Hill 'waited until Mrs Thompson had extinguished the light in her bedroom before going in'.

Saying the 'cold-blooded attack' involved 'significant planning', Mr Johnson added: 'If she had truly intended to have a talk to Mrs Thompson with the intention suggested, then a daytime visit would have been the only reasonable time to have done it.'

He described the murder as 'a planned attack on a defenceless woman in her own home which was motivated either by money, revenge or a desire to remove the witness to Jayne Hill's dishonesty or a mixture of the three'.

Judge Andrew Menary KC, Recorder of Liverpool, told Hill: 'You brutally killed Mrs Thompson when she was alone and utterly defenceless.'

He said that Hill had planned the killing because she wanted to remove the only witness to her theft of £40 from Mrs Thompson's purse a week earlier.

'The reason for committing such a dreadful act really defies belief. There is no doubt that money was taken by you and that had been captured on CCTV.

'You waited until she was in bed and perhaps fast asleep. The suddenness, ferocity and persistence on violence against you knew was frail and elderly demonstrates that you went there intending to kill her.

'She must have realised you were intending to kill her and it was inevitable that she would be killed. This was a cruel and callous offence with a gross breach of trust against a vulnerable woman in her own home.

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'Her suffering must have been profound.'

Hill, of Upton, Wirral, maintained to police that the sum she stole from Mrs Thompson on April 12 was £40.

In July she pleaded guilty to Mrs Thompson's murder.

She also admitted stealing jewellery from another woman she was supposedly caring for, a 97-year-old widow who had dementia.

A gold necklace which was given to the victim by her late husband was found in Hill's car along with another necklace and a gold ring, the court heard. She had intended to pawn them all.

Mrs Thompson was last seen alive by carers at about 6pm on April 22.

Police were called shortly before 11.30am the following day after being contacted by the North West Ambulance Service.

Mrs Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 'frail' but 'very alert' pensioner used a walking frame but was able to get around her home independently, the court heard.

The role of carers was to ensure she ate and drank enough. Ray Jarvis, 78, who lives nearby, said: 'She lived in that house for at least 30 years.

'She was very upset when her husband Charles died a few years ago and started to go out less.

'She bought the Daily Mail every day and did the sudoku and crossword without fail.'

Neighbours told the Liverpool Echo that Ms Thompson was a 'well-respected member of the community' who worked as a senior physicist at Clatterbridge Hospital before her retirement.

Valerie Morgan, 80, said: 'She was a very nice person.

'She was quiet and kept herself to herself. She wasn't out and about very much, but the chap next door took her shopping often.'

Speaking after the outcome, Detective Inspector Dave Jones of Merseyside Police said: 'This was the ultimate breach of trust from someone Myra trusted and it is truly shocking and despicable that Hill chose to carry out an attack on a frail and elderly woman who should have been safe in bed in her own home.

'This has obviously been a distressing time for Myra's family and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them.

'Hill admitted being responsible for Myra's death and today has rightly been sentenced for her monstrous actions.

'She has shown no remorse over the death of Myra but will now spend a considerable period of time behind bars to think about her actions on that night.

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'No length of sentence will ever be able to bring Myra back but hopefully knowing justice has been served will come as some kind of comfort for all those who loved her.'

Mrs Thompson's friend and neighbour Ann Jarvis said: 'I have lost all confidence and trust in the world and humanity itself, as I try to comprehend the brutal murder of my dear friend and neighbour Myra.

'Myra was like a sister to me and I keep replaying over and over this day, and the shock of hearing of her killing.

'Myra had worked in a caring role all her life in Clatterbridge Cancer Unit, as well as caring for her disabled husband for 50 years. Myra was a trusting, kind, loyal and intelligent lady who never hurt anyone. Ever.

'All Myra wanted and deserved was to spend the rest of her days in the comfort of her own home and be treated with the respect and dignity she has shown to others.'

Her niece Anne Charters added: 'As a family we are greatly relieved that the murder investigation into Myra's death has finally come to an end, resulting in a fitting sentence for the accused, Jayne Hill.

'To abuse a position of trust on someone as frail and vulnerable as my aunty Myra and to then confront her with such violence is something that has been incredibly upsetting and difficult to come to terms with.

'We can only imagine the terror she experienced during her final moments on the evening of April 22 in her own home, a place where she was supposed to be safe.

'We are hoping that now justice has been served we can all move on and hope it will go some way towards helping everyone directly affected by this shocking case, to find some form of closure from what has ultimately been a living nightmare.'