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A woman has been sentenced to prison after killing her elderly mother, citing an inability to continue as her carer. Stefania Glowka, aged 64, admitted to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility following the death of her 86-year-old mother, Tamara Glowka, at their Devizes home in Wiltshire on Christmas Day 2025. While the court acquitted her of murder, Glowka confessed to the killing and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
The defense maintained that Glowka’s severe depression greatly impaired her capacity to make clear decisions on the night she strangled her mother with a belt. Afterwards, Glowka attempted to take her own life. At Bristol Crown Court, Judge Julian Lambert sentenced Glowka to eight years behind bars, describing the case as “utterly extraordinary and deeply sad.” The judge also portrayed Glowka as a devoted and caring daughter, emphasizing the close bond between mother and daughter who depended solely on each other.
Before sentencing, the court heard from Glowka herself through a letter she had written, expressing profound remorse. “I had a shining light in my life and I extinguished it,” she wrote, adding, “My mother is with me every day, I still talk to her, I hear her voice.” She further reflected on the guilt she felt, saying, “I feel I do not have the right to return to society,” and lamented having let her mother down “when she needed me the most.” Glowka described their relationship to police as being like “two old dinosaurs at the end of the line,” illustrating their isolated existence.
The background details revealed that Glowka, who originally moved from Poland to the UK in the early 1990s, had been her mother’s primary carer since 2004. Her mother suffered from schizophrenia and experienced hallucinations and psychosis late in life, while Glowka herself battled recurrent depressive disorder. Police interviews revealed she had considered suicide since 2008 but reached a breaking point on Christmas Day 2025. The prosecution characterized the act as deliberate and premeditated, whereas the defense argued she was overwhelmed by despair and incapable of making rational decisions in the moment. Despite this, during cross-examination, Glowka acknowledged she was aware of her actions and capable of judgment. Commenting on the case, Dr. Siobhan O’Dwyer from the University of Birmingham highlighted research noting that one murder or murder-suicide involving unpaid carers occurs monthly across England and Wales
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