23 years’ jail for son who burned his own mother to death
A MAN who murdered his own mother by dousing her in petrol and setting her on fire was yesterday jailed for at least 23 years for the horrific crime.
Former offshore worker William Kelly, 42, shouted ‘die, die’ as Cathy Kelly was engulfed in flames.
Minutes earlier he had brutally assaulted his 71-year-old mother, punching and kicking her and leaving her lying on the floor.
After the blaze, the killer’s only concern was for his West Highland terrier.
A jury at the High Court in Glasgow took only 90 minutes to unanimously convict Kelly.
He was given a life sentence and told he must spend 23 years behind bars before being considered for release.
Jailing Kelly, judge Lady Stacey told him: ‘The jury found you guilty of murdering your mother. You assaulted her by pushing her to the floor before you poured petrol on her and set her alight – that is a horrific crime.
The judge added: ‘She looked after you and brought you up, even near the end of her life she was still prepared to cherish you as her son and excused your bad behaviour to other people.’
Jurors had heard that Kelly broke off from the vicious assault to take a phone call, which he answered in a silly voice.
After finishing the call, Kelly continued assaulting his defenceless mother.
Throughout the trial, he denied murdering his mother at the home they shared in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, on February 11 last year.
Kelly claimed she was set on fire by accident after petrol he had spilled on himself in the garage ignited as he lit a cigarette.
But the jury heard there was no trail of petrol from the garage into the living room and were told if the blaze had happened as Kelly claimed, he would have been more badly injured.
When he was being treated for burns in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, he told a nurse: ‘I did what I had to do. I was provoked. She got what she deserved.’
The court heard Kelly was enraged because his mother had embarrassed him at a 21st birthday party. He ordered her and his then partner Eleanor Banks to leave.
When they got home around 11pm, he dragged his mother into the house after she fell as she got out of a taxi.
Kelly then punched and kicked the helpless pensioner in the living room of their home.
Mrs Banks, 44, told prosecutor Ashley Edwards, QC: ‘William was emptying a petrol can onto his mum and I couldn’t stop him.
‘I was standing screaming, “You’re going to kill your mum” and he was saying, “Die!”. He set fire at the bottom of her legs. She just went up like an inferno.’
A pathologist said Mrs Kelly suffered second degree burns to 45 per cent to her body as well as bruising and broken ribs.
Jurors heard that Mrs Kelly was recovering from a brain haemorrhage she suffered in December 2016 and it was alleged this was a result of beatings inflicted by her son.
After the sentencing, procurator fiscal Nicky Patrick said: ‘All murders are shocking but the murder of a parent by their child makes it particularly so.’
‘She got what she deserved’