A man has been found guilty at Exeter Crown Court of the murder of his mother at her home in the village of Norton Fitzwarren in Somerset.

27-year-old Alex McDonald, of Hilly Park in the village, was convicted on Tuesday, 23 June. He is due to be sentenced today (Wednesday).

The court heard that in September last year, McDonald was stopped by police officers in Exeter while he was driving his mother’s car, after he failed to stop following an earlier collision. 

He was arrested on suspicion of taking a vehicle without consent and for a separate burglary offence, resulting in further enquiries being made at his mother’s home.

Officers found the body of Catherine McDonald inside the property and a murder inquiry was launched.

A post-mortem examination concluded she had died from asphyxiation and stab wounds. There was a sexual element to the offence.

McDonald was interviewed and later charged with his mother’s murder.

Senior Investigating Officer Det Insp Julie Mackay said: "Catherine McDonald was a quiet person who lived a private life in the Norton Fitzwarren area of Taunton. Her son Alex had returned home to live with her in summer 2014.

"We know he’d been drinking heavily at a wine tasting event the night before the murder, returning home at around midnight. He’d also taken cocaine.

"While he’s been convicted of her murder, we may never know what triggered him to attack his mother in such a brutal fashion, before stealing her car which he later crashed in Devon.

"Crimes of this magnitude are thankfully rare, especially in Somerset, but Alex McDonald was swiftly arrested with little risk to the public.

"Our thoughts are with Catherine’s family, who’ve had to come to terms with her death and the tragic fact it was at the hands of her own son.

"We hope the decision of the court will help bring an end to this particularly traumatic period of their lives."

(MH)