Jailed for life: 'Volatile' daughter, 25, who murdered mum with kitchen knife in row over bills
A woman who stabbed her mother to death after arguing over household bills has been jailed for life.
Charlene Sargeant, 24, murdered her mother, Rocky, 53, after flying into a rage and repeatedly plunging a knife into her throat.
The victim suffered 18 knife wounds, including having her throat slashed, in the brutal attack at the home they shared in Cheadle, Manchester.
Sargeant dialled 999 and told an ambulance call-handler her mum had cut her own throat.
Emergency crews went to their home at 9am on March 16, and found Mrs Sargeant lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen.
A neighbour told police she had been woken by a woman screaming: “Leave me alone, back off.”
Sargeant was found guilty of murder at Stafford Crown Court and on Tuesday was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 14 years behind bars.
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Judge Michael Chambers said: “You repeatedly stabbed her in the kitchen using a knife you had taken from the kitchen drawer.
“She did not deserve to die, particularly in the way she did. You had a volatile relationship with your mother.
“You came down at 7am. She came down. There was a heated argument over household bills. You took a knife from the drawer and repeatedly stabbed her.
“There are clearly tragic features of this case and the public are rightly appalled by the crime of matricide.”
Jurors heard that ambulance control called police to say a woman had cut her own throat.
Prosecutor Sally Howes said Sergeant had said: “My mum has killed herself. I just found her dead. She’s cut her throat.”
On arrival, the first paramedic found Mrs Sargeant with a “horrific wound to the side of her throat.”
Sargeant was arrested on suspicion of murder and cautioned. She said: “She drove me to it. I killed her.”
The victim’s adopted mother, Greta Egglestone, told the court her daughter and granddaughter had also argued about the amount of time Sargeant would spend on her laptop.
In a police statement, Sargeant said: “I lost control following eight years of abuse and picked up a kitchen knife from the draining board and I stabbed my mother with the knife.
“It was a cry for help because I was emotionally unstable.”
Charles Miskin QC, defending, said the pair had been living in “poverty and distress”.
He said: “This house was like a powder keg. Matricide is an unusual crime. This was the product of sustained stress over a long period.”
Detective Inspector Victoria Downing, of Staffordshire Police, said: “We are glad that this case, which has clearly been distressing for the family of Rocky, as well as the wider community in Cheadle, has now concluded.
“Sadly, nothing will change what happened that day. We are grateful for the support from the community in bringing this case before the court.”
