Bury man's trainers left 'pattern' on mum's face as he stamped on her head

A court heard a man from Bury stamped on his mother's face so hard, the sole of his trainers left a distinctive pattern on her face.

Stephen Ball, 32, attacked his mother Suzanne Galvin, 55, at their home in Bury on 16 September 2023.

He now faces life in prison after being found guilty of her murder.

Suzanne was found with extensive bruising to her body, including "patterning" to her face consistent with the sole of Ball's trainers, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Jurors heard that neighbours reported a disturbance shortly before 8pm on 16 September 2023, at a flat on Pear Avenue.

Ball was heard shouting abuse and calling "Mum, let me in".

After the attack, Ball 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 lay 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."

Mrs Galvin asked to speak to her daughter and could hear her breathing "erratically", jurors were told. She tried to persuade Ball to call an ambulance, but he said he had "no credit", so she called 999 herself.

Suzanne was found unresponsive on a mattress, and taken to Salford Royal Hospital, but died two days later.

A post-mortem found a blunt force head injury was the cause of her death. Included in the report was reference to "patterned bruising" on her face which matched the pattern that was found on Ball's ASICS trainers in his bedroom.

"This is consistent with stamping on her head or face," Mr Cole told jurors.

Ball gave "conflicting" accounts to officers when he was arrested. He was charged with assault, before being charged with murder following his mother's death.

The court heard Ball and his mum had an "argumentative and aggressive" relationship as they both struggled with addiction. Suzanne was seen with facial injuries the day before her death, jurors heard.

Ball pleaded guilty to manslaughter based on the partial defence of diminished responsibility. He denied murder and did not give evidence at his trial, but jurors found him unanimously guilty. He will be sentenced on 1 November.

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."