Daughter reveals moment she found out sister and nephew were behind murder of her mother Betty Guy
The daughter of a woman killed by her sister and nephew has spoken for the first time about the moment she found out her 84-year-old mother had been murdered.
84-year-old Betty Guy died at her home in Johnston, Pembrokeshire in 2011.
Read more: Ex soldier and mother jailed for at least 11 years for murdering gran, 84
Paramedics were called to Mrs Guy's home in the early hours of 7 November by her daughter Penelope.
Medics believed Mrs Guy had died from natural causes and her body was cremated days later but the trial heard there was no evidence she had cancer or had been terminally ill.
In tonight’s episode of ‘Y Ditectif’, Dyfed Powys Police reveal how detectives uncovered covert evidence from the case that proved crucial in the conviction of Betty’s daughter Penelope John and grandson Barry Rogers for Mrs Guy's murder.
“I received a phone call from Dyfed Powys Police...he [the officer] said, ‘There’s no easy way of telling you this but we think your mother was murdered’. Shock. Horrendous shock...And he said we’ve arrested your sister Penny and her son Barry", Mrs Matthews told the programme.
Lorraine was stunned to learn that her own family members had been arrested for the death of her mother.
“It’s beggars belief...you wouldn’t think that another family member could do such a thing... to an old lady.”
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Davies of Dyfed Powys Police said how they investigated Barry Rogers’ background and gathered evidence following a statement from one of his previous partners.
“We had no body, no crime scene evidence, and these are the tools you normally depend on as a Senior Investigating Officer.”
But it was the decision to gather covert recordings of the mother and son at Penelope John’s home in St Dogmaels which became the breakthrough for the investigation team.
Rogers was recorded saying, "if we deny it all the way...they have no evidence"
“It’s only circumstantial evidence. Hearsay. All this is hearsay. They can’t prove it one way or the other” he adds.
“We gave them the chance to tell the truth after their arrest and they didn’t. But through these recordings we got the truth out there”, said Detective Inspector Gareth Roberts.
Penelope John and Barry Rogers were each given a life sentence in February 2018, with a minimum of 11 years in jail. Both appealed their sentence but lost.
The motive to murder Betty still remains unclear.
“Y Ditectif - Betty Guy” will be broadcast on Tuesday 29 May on S4C at 9.30pm with English subtitles.