Son admitted manslaughter of his mother after “physically and mentally abusing her over many years”

Darren Constant and (inset) his mother Judy

An Enfield man has been sentenced to life imprisonment – with a minimum term of nine years and four months – after pleading guilty to causing the death of his mother.

Darren Constant, aged 39 from Carterhatch Lane, attacked his mother Judy Constant, aged 62, who died the next day on 4th July 2018.

As part of his sentence, Constant was also handed an indefinite restraining order, preventing him from contacting the victim’s three surviving sisters and two of his former partners.

Metropolitan Police officers began an investigation after Judy was found dead at a property in Marlborough Road, Holloway, the day after officers had been called there to an assault. A post-mortem examination confirmed her cause of death was blunt force trauma.

During the investigation, detectives found that Judy, who had been beaten by her son, had bruising all over her body and there was evidence of a huge number of old and far more recent injuries.

Before she died, an ambulance was called for Judy. Medics attended the address and Darren Constant could be heard telling his mother the excuses she should give for her injuries. Those instructions were captured on body-worn video and he was arrested. Judy refused to go to hospital and continued to refuse despite medics believing she had suffered a brain bleed. She was found dead the next day.

The police investigation resulted in Darren Constant being charged with manslaughter in March 2021. Following the sentencing, Judy’s family issued a statement and said it “brings the end to over four-and-a-half years of anguish, after our beloved sister Judy was killed by her son”.

They added: “Judy was a joyful person, very open, hardworking and honest. In her youthful days, she was the most vivacious amongst the siblings.

“She largely raised Darren on her own and provided everything he could wish for. He betrayed her love by both physically and mentally abusing her over many years, ultimately resulting in her death.

“No sentence, no matter the length will make amends for what he did to his own mother, the woman who gave him life only for him to cruelly take hers. Whilst he plead guilty to manslaughter, this comes after four years of denying any responsibility or accepting any blame.

“As a family it has been a long journey to reach today’s outcome, we recall the day we learned of Judy’s death as though it were yesterday. She is deeply missed by us all. We would also like to thank both the police homicide team and barristers who worked so hard to bring justice for Judy.”

Detective Inspector Frank Copley said: “This was a shocking, tragic offence made all the more painful by the fact that Judy’s killer was her son.

“Her protective, maternal instincts had prevented her from reporting the violent abuse that she had clearly endured at his hands for some time. I believe it was those same instincts that stopped her from going to hospital for the treatment that may have saved her life.

“She was a well-liked lady and it is awful, truly awful, that her life ended in such a brutal way by the man she had raised and cared about so much. It is clear her family and friends will all miss her, and myself and the team continue to think of them.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.