Son cleared of mother’s Christmas ‘row’ killing

A son has been found not guilty of killing his elderly mother following a Christmas Eve row over potatoes.

Mark Jennens, 40, manhandled his mother after she argued with him about Christmas lunch. He picked up 78-year-old Hazel at their home in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, and frogmarched her towards the door when she fell and broke her hip. After she died of bronchopneumonia in hospital on Jan 20, 2016, Mr Jennens was charged with her manslaughter.

At a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, he was cleared.

His sister Dawn backed her brother and said: “There was no public interest in this case.”