Matthew Brierley given hospital order after killing his mother

Police at the scene in Littleborough in December 2013

A man who killed his mother just days after moving back in with her has been given a hospital order.

Matthew Brierley (born 12/11/1968) of Calf Hey, Littleborough, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Manchester Crown Court.

Today, Wednesday 13 August 2014, he received a hospital order.

Shortly before midnight on Saturday 14 December 2013, Brierley called police from a public telephone, telling the call handler to get a police car to the address as he had “just murdered somebody”.

Officers attended and discovered the body of his mother, 64 year old Glennis Brierley - a local artist and trained counsellor and psychotherapist. She had been stabbed in the throat and chest.

Matthew was arrested in the town centre the following morning near to Rochdale Town Hall. It was established he had moved back into his mother’s home just two days before he killed her.

During his interview he told police that he confronted his mother over a missing lamp that he had been storing at her house and had attacked her after she had said she thought he was "delusional.".

Senior Investigating Officer, Duncan Thorpe, said: "Glennis was a very popular and respected member of her local community and her death continues to be keenly felt, not just by her family and friends but also the people of Littleborough.

"For her to have been killed in her own home by her own son was as needless as it was absolutely tragic."