UPDATED: Man who claimed his mother's injuries were due to her ill health is jailed for her murder

A man who claimed his mother’s injuries were a result of her ill health has been jailed after he was convicted of her murder.

Steffon Hewitt 51 (04.05.72) of Blake’s Road, Peckham was found guilty at Isleworth Crown Court in February of murdering his mother, 68-year-old Vanita Nowell, in March 2020.

Today, Tuesday, 16 April, he was sentenced to a minimum term of 21 years' imprisonment.

Detective Constable Nick Stocking, part of the team that led the murder investigation, said: “Hewitt showed no remorse when killing his mother by inflicting significant and extensive injuries, resulting in what would have been a painful death.

“Vanita suffered from 28 fresh rib fractures and six fractures of her spine alongside extensive bruising to her face, head and body. She also sustained a traumatic brain injury.

“This was a vicious attack but Hewitt attempted to blame it on his mother’s constant falling due to her dementia. A combination of forensic and medical evidence proved this was not true and it is reflected in today’s sentencing.”

On Sunday, 8 March 2020 emergency services were called to Hewitt’s home in Peckham. He told the call operator that he had found his mother unresponsive on the bathroom floor, however she was already dead when the LAS team arrived.

Hewitt said that he had attempted CPR on his mother and that he ‘may have broken a few ribs’. Later medical enquiries showed that the extent of the fractures could not have been caused from him performing this procedure.