Grandmother 'ferociously' killed by son after years of abuse was not found for two days

A "caring, loving and kind" grandmother was "ferociously" murdered by her own son, who left her body for two days before she was discovered.

Lewis Bush, 27, attempted to clean the scene after killing his mother, Kelly Pitt, 44, before leaving the house to buy a bottle of beer.

Jurors heard how Bush bullied Ms Pitt for years before he murdered her at her Newport home on 10 May.

Grandmother and mother-of-three, Kelly Pitt sustained cuts to her face and her body was purple and swollen when she was discovered.After killing his mother, Bush lied to his sister about his mother's condition and fled the scene after his sister's partner attended her flat in Sandalwood Court on the morning of 12 May.

Bush was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 16 years at Newport Crown Court on Friday in an emotional hearing which saw family members approaching the dock and swearing at him.

At the time of Kelly Pitt's death, Bush was subject to bail conditions preventing him from contacting his mother or attending her address.

The court heard how Ms Pitt had been "subjected to domestic violence and controlling behaviour" at the hands of her son for many years.

Bush assaulted his mother in 2012 and 2013 by punching her and striking her several times and a neighbour described the relationship between the two as "volatile".

A friend of Ms Pitt said her son had been abusing her for years, both physically and mentally.On 10 May, Ms Pitt sent WhatsApp messages to her daughter, Jordan, saying Bush was "starting on her" for money and banging on her window.

A number of phone calls were made between Kelly Pitt's phone and Bush, in which he could be heard shouting at his mother for not making him a sausage sandwich.

Ms Pitts screamed at her daughter to ring the police and sounded "petrified" and "frightened".

Ms Pitts' last words to her daughter were "Jord, ring the police", but the court heard how Jordan didn't call the police, having been faced with the same situation many times before and believing it would be resolved.

She later sent a number of WhatsApp messages to her mum, but they remained unopened.

Prosecutor Christopher Rees KC said: "There is no contact from Kelly Pitt to Jordan or anyone else after that time.

"The prosecution case is that Kelly Pitt was most likely murdered that night by Jordan Bush. He beat her to death in the bedroom of her own home.

"He did not try and get assistance for his mother instead his concern was to clean up the blood, to hide the attack and destroy evidence.

"He left his mother there for dead on the night of 10 and 11 May and into the morning of the 12 May."

On 11 May, Bush continued to receive no response from Ms Pitts but the defendant answered her phone and claimed his mother was "in bed unwell and being sick".

During the course of that day, the killer was seen on CCTV footage at the Esso garage in Chepstow Road.

At 9.13am on 12 May, he was seen withdrawing cash from his bank in Newport city centre and went on to buy a bottle of Stella Artois from Sainsbury's at Friar Walk.

At 11.15am, Bush's partner, Kieran Saunders, attended the property which was unlocked and described the scene as a "blood bath".

He saw Ms Pitt lying on her back where he described her as "black and blue".

Paramedics were called at 11.20am and arrived at the flat shortly later.

Ms Pitt was found lying in bed under the duvet which was heavily soaked with blood and the mattress was stained.

She was declared dead at 11.34am and a post-mortem examination discovered Ms Pitt had suffered severe blunt force trauma to her head, neck and body.

Mr Rees said: "The prosecution say it is crystal clear from the ferocity of the attack evidenced by the extent and severity of the injuries and Lewis Bush’s behaviour after the attack demonstrated an intention to kill.

"He did not try and get any assistance for his mother. He did not call the emergency services. He did not call the police. He did nothing to save her life.

"Lewis Bush left his mother dead in her home and continued to lie about her condition until her body was discovered on the morning of 12 May. His own concern was to try and cover his tracks."Following the hearing, detective chief inspector Virginia Davies, the senior investigation officer in the case, said: "The family of Kelly Pitt are left devastated by the loss of their beloved mother, grandmother and sister at the hands of her son.

"I would like to pay tribute to them for the strength they have shown throughout this extremely difficult time.

"Nothing will compensate for their loss and our thoughts remain with them."

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