Man who murdered his mum by stamping on her head was snared as shoe treads matched face injury

Suzanne Galvin, 55, was found with extensive brusing to her body and a patterning on her face consistent with the sole of Stephen Ball's trainers.

A man murdered his own mother by stamping on her head in a brutal attack at the home they shared. Stephen Ball, 32, assaulted Suzanne Galvin, 55, at the property in Bury, Greater Manchester, on September 16, 2023.

Bolton Crown Court heard that the mum was found with extensive bruising to her body and a bruising "pattern" on her face that was consistent with the treads on the sole of her son's Asics trainers.

Ball denied murder during the trial, pleading guilty to manslaughter on the basis of the partial defence of diminished responsibility. He did not give evidence and the jury unanimously found him guilty of his mother's murder, Manchester Evening News reports.

The court heard that shortly before 8pm on the night of the incident, neighbours reported a disturbance at the flat on Pear Avenue. Ball was heard yelling "thieving b***h" and calling for him mum to let him into the home. Ball then called his grandmother, Mary Galvin, who lives in Ireland.

Prosecuting, Gordon Cole KC, said: "He said he had come back to the flat to find she was injured. He said he didn't know if she had been attacked, but said she was struggling to breathe. He told her that her wrist was broken and she had bruising to her eyes and shoulder and she was laying on the bed.

"Mary told the defendant that Suzanne needed to go to hospital, but he told his grandmother that Suzanne said she did not want to go to hospital at that stage and would go in the morning."

Jurors heard that Mary asked to speak to Suzanne as she could hear "erratic" breathing in the background of the call. After Ball refused to call an ambulance, claiming he had "no credit", the grandmother rang 999 herself.

Paramedics found Suzanne unresponsive on a mattress and raced her to Salford Royal Hospital, where she died two days later. A post-mortem ruled that blunt force trauma to the head was the cause of her death.

The report made reference to "patterned bruising" on Suzanne's face. This was matched to trainers found in Ball's bedroom when police arrested him after the attack. Mr Cole said: "This is consistent with stamping on her head or face."

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After being arrested, Ball gave "conflicting" accounts to cops. His initial assault charge was upgraded to murder when his mum passed away. The relationship between the mother and son was described as "argumentative and aggressive", with both struggling with addiction.

After being found guilty, Ball was remanded into custody and will be detained at Ashworth Hospital until sentencing on November 1. Addressing the jury, Judge Martin Walsh said: "The sentence is fixed by law as life imprisonment, I have to determine the mandatory minimum term and I will hear arguments about that next time.

"It is likely he will be detained at Ashworth Hospital for a significant period of time before he will be considered for release by the Parole Board."

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