Man sentenced to 15 years for killing his mother with a mop and cushion in Valencia

A mop and a cushion, those were the weapons he had used to end the life of his 68-year-old mother, who suffered from mental illness, in March 2023, in the home they shared in the Valencian district of San Marcelino. Still, looking beyond the method used to kill his mother, first striking her with the mop handle and then suffocating her with a cushion once she was defenceless on the floor, this case of parricide reveals, yet again, the failure to detect in time a ticking time bomb in the domain of mental health issues, one that was about to explode.

Javier F. S., aged 37 at the time of committing the crime, confessed this Thursday to having killed his mother because he was "emotionally overwhelmed" by the care she required due to the residual schizophrenia she had been suffering from for years. The provincial court of Valencia sentenced the son to 15 years in prison for the murder of a victim who was particularly vulnerable due to her age and illness. Under normal circumstances, this crime would carry a sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, but he was granted a partial exemption for the mitigating circumstance of his own diminished mental capacity.

The trial by public jury was scheduled to begin next week but, after all parties had agreed to a plea deal, the hearing was held this Thursday. So, no need for jury selection and the sentence was handed down verbally ('in voce'). In addition to the 15-year prison sentence, he was given five years of probation and ordered to pay his brother 45,000 euros in damages.

The parricide (the killing of a close relative, usually a parent) took place at the family home, located in Calle San Marcelino in Valencia, where the now-convicted man cared for his 68-year-old mother, who was undergoing long-term treatment for residual schizophrenia. The ruling does not specify the exact time the accused attacked his mother, some time between 3:00pm on 23 March 2023 and 1:00am the following day, although forensic experts did narrow it down to 4:00pm as the closest possible time of death.

Thus, with mother and son alone in the house, the defendant struck his mother on the head with the hollow, metal handle of a mop, causing a haematoma with swelling in both temporal regions and the left occipital region. He then threw her to the living room floor, without her being able to resist.

The oral judgement establishes that it was a sudden and unexpected attack and there was also significant disparity between the aggressor and his victim due to their respective physical conditions. In fact, in addition to her advanced age, the woman weighed 48 kilos and was 1.60 metres tall.

After hitting her with the mop and while she lay defenceless on the floor, he took a cushion and suffocated her to death. After killing his mother, the son went into her bedroom, located next to the living room where she lay dead, and lay down on her bed. After one o'clock in the morning, his brother returned home and discovered the woman's lifeless body.

The defendant suffered from an affective disorder with anxious and depressive symptoms and "an emotional outburst stemming from his mother and the care she required, aggravated by a recent break-up he'd suffered", according to the court ruling.

The forensic experts from the psychiatry unit of the Institute of Legal Medicine in Valencia had observed borderline traits in the parricide that affected his volitional capacity and understanding of his actions. However, he was deemed to not be suffering from a psychiatric illness that could be considered a determining factor in the crime he had committed, hence the submission of only a partial defence being considered.

The defendant initially faced a 25-year prison sentence but, following the plea deal agreed between the defence counsel, the private prosecution and the public prosecutor's office, his sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison and an additional five years of supervised release. As part of civil liability, the convicted man must compensate his brother with 45,000 euros for the murder of their mother.