Transvestite son said he put mother ‘out of her misery’ by stabbing her with sword, court heard

A transvestite son told police he was putting his frail mother ‘out of her misery’ when he stabbed the 86-year-old through the heart before decapitating her, a court heard.

Philip Tarver, 47, put Angela Tarver’s head in the freezer because he ‘couldn’t bear to look at her,’ the Old Bailey heard.

Tarver, who was wearing a see-through negligee, sliced off the finger on which his mother wore her wedding and maternity rings and put it in the kettle, prosecutors claim.  

The court heard he then turned on his father Colin Tarver, 83, with a ‘demented look’ in his eyes and threatened to kill him during the rampage in their family home in Woking, Surrey.

But the pensioner managed to wrestle the weapon away from his son and call the police, the Old Bailey was told.

Tarver, who had lived with his parents in the four-bedroom property most of his life, bought six cans of beer and a bottle of vodka with their money on December 18 last year.

He came downstairs in a transparent floral nightgown the following morning and claimed the drinks had been ‘poisoned’ before unplugging the phone and television.

His father was reconnecting the cables in the living room when he heard a scream and saw his wife’s feet lying motionless on top of an upended chair on the kitchen floor, prosecutors claim.

Mrs Tarver, who had a stroke in 1991 which left her struggling to speak and using a Zimmer frame to help with her mobility.

Tarver later told police he wanted to ‘put her out of her misery’ after he came downstairs and thought she looked ‘half-dead’ as she sat at the kitchen table, the court heard.

The killer said to officers after his arrest that he had struggled with his sexuality since he was five and dressed in women’s clothing, the court heard.

Tarver said he greeted his father wearing the see-through negligee earlier in the morning to which Mr Tarver responded: ‘Oh no, you’re dressed like that again,’ jurors were told.

Grey-haired and bespectacled Colin Tarver appeared in the witness box on Thursday wearing a black suit as his son sat in the dock.

Giving evidence the widower said his late wife had mainly used written notes to communicate with people after suffering a ‘severe’ stroke when she was in her 50s.

Ms Healy asked: ‘Had he always lived with you?’

‘Yes most of the time he lived with us. Sometimes he worked away from home and didn’t live in the house,’ Mr Tarver said.

‘When Philip was 18 did Mrs Tarver suffer a severe stroke?’ Ms Healy asked.

‘Yes,’ the widower said.

‘Did that affect her ability to speak?’ the prosecutor asked.

‘Yes, she couldn’t really speak at all. She tried to answer things but it was difficult to communicate.

‘She would write notes and eventually you would understand what she was getting at,’ Mr Tarver said.

‘So she could understand you but had huge difficulty communicating orally to people?’ the QC said.

‘That’s right, yes,’ the father replied.

The prosecutor told jurors they would consider evidence about an acute psychotic episode allegedly experienced by Tarver during the attack.

Ms Healy said the question was whether it had been triggered by his own use of cannabis, or was an ‘independent psychotic episode which coincidentally developed against a background of cannabis and cocaine use.’

Tarver allegedly made a series of ‘significant’ comments and ranted about needing to ‘make sure’ his mother was dead while he was in police custody.

Ms Healy said: ‘He said: “She’s in the freezer, she’s in bits.” He’s blinking repeatedly with his eyes and he says “put a patch over my left eye, the f***ers been possessed. I need a drink. Holy water of course. Whiskey, just Irish whiskey.”

‘He said: “I had a moment of madness.”

‘He described struggling with his sexuality since the age of five and he dressed in women’s clothes but his father didn’t mind.

‘He described his mother sitting at the kitchen table and looking half dead so he said he put her out of her misery.

‘He said he stabbed her in the heart and he had to make sure she was dead. He said it was all a blur and hazy and he was trying to process what had happened.

‘He said his dad said: “Oh no you’re dressed like that again.” He said his dad was used to seeing him dressed in women’s clothing.

‘He saw his mum still in the kitchen staring blankly at a wall not looking at it. She didn’t acknowledge him – he got a knife, he pushed her onto the floor and stabbed her in the heart. He then said he cut her head off with a knife to make sure she was dead.

‘He said he was very confused at the time and still doesn’t know what happened.

‘He was described as shaking with his head in his hand and sobbing saying: “What have I done?”

Asked why he put her head in the freezer, Tarver allegedly replied: ‘I couldn’t bear to look at her so I had to get the head away from me.’ 

Ms Healy added: ‘A scabbard was present on the floor of the dining room. Two rings had been identified in the washing up bowl in the kitchen.

‘The stab wound to the left chest wall, this was the fatal injury.’

Tarver appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey today wearing a grey jumper with long hair. Tarver of Julian Close, Woking, denies murder and threats to kill.

The trial continues.