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A former janitor warned that he would kill his elderly mother THREE YEARS before beating her to death, but he was allowed to move back in with her.

And a serious review of the case has now revealed how authorities and even bank staff ‘missed opportunities’ to help 81-year-old Beryl Hammond escape cruel domestic abuser Darren Hammond.

The alcoholic kept his mother’s body in his bedroom for weeks after her brutal death at his home in Ebrook Road, Sutton Coldfield. The unemployed thug, who had been living on his pension, was later jailed for 12 years for manslaughter.

Read more: The boy who disappeared: New ‘person of interest’ in 23-year-old mystery

Now a review has revealed how authorities missed an opportunity to intervene in the domestic and financial abuse of Ms Hammond by her own murderous son. She had also suffered years of violence from her now-deceased ex-husband.

The report does not name Ms Hammond, but uses the pseudonym ‘Rita’. She recounted how police were called to her family’s property in June 2014 after her mother called her 999 and she “appeared anxious and scared” after her son pushed her down the road. ground floor window.

Police officers arrived to find the terrified and injured mother sitting in the garden with Hammond, who was armed with four knives.

The report says: “She said he had been talking to himself and then took a knife from the drawer and began repeatedly telling him she needed to get out of the house. When she couldn’t find the keys to the front door, he opened the window and pushed her inside. outside.

“She said that he climbed out of the window after her and explained that he needed to get her out of the house, and she felt that he was trying to protect her. She also told officers how her son’s mental health had worsened in recent months.”

Hammond was taken into custody and admitted during a mental health assessment that he “heard voices telling him to kill his mother.”

He was later found guilty of common assault and received a community sentence, which included probation sessions. But when he missed all this, they took him back to court and gave him a suspended prison sentence.

Crucially, no domestic violence prevention order was enforced to bar her from entering her mother’s address and no agency contacted the home for the next two years except Ms Hammond’s GP.

The report criticized several organisations, including Ms Hammond’s bank. She had reported the domestic abuse of her son to bank staff and expressed concern that he was taking money from her account.

It read: “Rita visited the local branch… multiple times to discuss her son’s access to her account and to disclose domestic abuse. Bank staff initially blocked her son’s online access to her account and raised her concerns to the bank manager when Rita wanted to restore access to her online account.

“At this point, she insisted that her son was not coercing her to do so. Aware that the police were involved, the bank took no further action, but encouraged her to contact the police should further concerns arise.”

Since then, the bank has introduced more domestic abuse and coercive training for its staff, according to the report.

Hammond was acquitted of murder but convicted of the manslaughter of his elderly mother in February 2018. The then 41-year-old was jailed for 12 years.

Beryl’s body was discovered at her home in Ebrook Road, Sutton Coldfield, on August 12, 2017.

Hammond, who was unemployed, opened the door to police after neighbors requested a welfare check on his mother, whom they had not seen in a long time. They also reported a pungent odor emanating from his home.

The killer told officers his mother was sleeping upstairs, but they went to check and made the grim discovery; His body was found severely decomposed on the floor of his bedroom.

An autopsy was inconclusive due to the level of decomposition. However, tests showed that Beryl had ten broken ribs that were not explained by the position of her body.

The court heard how Hammond had no income and had been living on his pension. He had been arrested on three previous occasions after her mother reported that he had assaulted her or that he was being violent.

But she would always take back her complaints and take her son to live with her. However, she had also told her neighbors and her bank manager that he would assault her and that she was afraid of him, West Midlands Police said.

The serious case review report added that his mother’s financial abuse was a red flag that several agencies had missed.

It stated: “The perpetrator financially abused his mother by not claiming welfare benefits and relying on her income. There are also strong indications that he stole and misused her bank account to support his binge drinking and lifestyle of game”.

“Unbeknownst to the agencies at the time, neighbors were aware of the twice-daily alcohol deliveries. After his death, his bedroom was found to contain expensive, high-spec technology and gaming equipment.

“It turned out that Rita had received an inheritance from her father in the region of twenty thousand pounds and a family member suggested that this could have supplemented Rita’s pension to pay for the perpetrator’s lifestyle.

“Although police issued adult protection alerts after they became aware of the alleged theft of the bank account, there was no indication that the broader nature of the financial abuse was investigated.

“When the social workers questioned the perpetrator about the misuse of his mother’s bank account, he convinced them that she was confused.

“There was no record of the police investigation that looked into the possible theft. Police, probation and mental health services were aware that the perpetrator did not claim welfare benefits and was financially dependent on his mother, but did not investigate further.”

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