Man jailed for murdering his mother

A man has been jailed for murdering his mother at the home they shared in Peterborough. 

Gregory Coulson, 32, stabbed Carmen Coulson, 67, to death at the property in Lingwood Park, Longthorpe.

Police were called by Coulson at 2.44am on Sunday, 9 February, last year, however, it is believed he had killed Mrs Coulson the previous evening.

A jury at Huntingdon Law Courts heard officers arrived moments later and found Mrs Coulson dead at the detached home.

A post-mortem found Mrs Coulson had a large number of wounds over her body, including a fatal stab wound to the heart.

Coulson denied murder and, at trial, claimed intruders had broken into the property and killed his mother.

However, the jury rejected this account and on 10 March, unanimously found him guilty of murder. 

Today (4 June), at Huntingdon Law Courts, Gregory Coulson, 32, of Lingwood Park, Peterborough, was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 26 years.

Detective Inspector Mark Dollard said: “We may never know exactly why Coulson carried out this brutal attack on his own mother but there was evidence of repeated and heavy cocaine and alcohol consumption by him over the three months leading up to the murder.

“Carmen’s death is a tragedy for the rest of her family, who showed dignity throughout the trial, and my thoughts are with them at this incredibly difficult time."  

The court heard that on his arrest and while waiting to be booked into custody, Coulson asked officers, “how many years do you get for murder these days?”

When interviewed by detectives, he was asked if he was responsible for the murder and he said “yes”.

He said on the night in question he’d been in his room listening to music, painting, and drinking vodka.

He told officers: “I feel like I've just had enough with it because I just got these feelings that I've had enough, and I have to do something about it. If I'm honest this is totally out of my character, I've not been happy for a while.”

Coulson said he got a steak knife from the kitchen and stabbed his mother to death at about 10pm.

He then went to bed as he didn’t know what to do, before getting up to make the call to police.

Photo: Gregory Coulson, 32.