Man battered his brother to death with a guitar while he slept

A man has been jailed for 20 years after battering his own brother to death with a guitar while he slept.

Steven Barnes, 64, bludgeoned his brother Paul Hawkesford-Barnes, 57, with the instrument after an argument about their elderly mother's care.

Hawkesford-Barnes was found dead at the siblings' mother's address in Coventry in March. He had been helping to care for their mother, who was suffering with dementia.

Their mother Irene had also been assaulted by Barnes, and was found with facial injuries with the bloodstained and damaged guitar lying nearby.

In her eighties, she has since died but not as a direct result of her injuries.

Barnes handed himself into police and pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility as well as the attempted wounding of his mother.

The 64-year-old, of Radford, Coventry, has been jailed for 20 years.

In a statement, his brother's widow Juliet Hawkesford-Barnes said: "Our children and I are truly devastated at the loss of Paul and the unforgivable events that Paul and Irene suffered.

"Paul was a friendly, loyal and funny person with a huge personality, his death has left a huge hole in the lives of our family and many of his friends."

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Detective Inspector Ranj Sangha, from West Midlands Police, said: "What happened that night has ripped apart a family.

"It's hard to imagine the pain and suffering they've all experienced at the loss of Paul and Irene.

"This was a brutal attack on Paul and what happened to him, along with her own recollections of what went on, will undoubtedly have impacted upon Irene.

"Our thoughts remain with everyone who has been affected by this tragedy."