'I'm going to kill her,' then he did

AFTER police arrested Wayne Le Sauvage at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of murdering his mother, they found he had written a piece entitled 'The Poem'. It was a story in verse of his alleged childhood abuse at her hands and with references to violent acts against her.

It was found in his bag in a notebook he had bought at Gatwick Airport.

At the outset of his trial yesterday, it was made clear that the defendant did not dispute that he killed his mother unlawfully and the prosecution accepted his plea of guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Le Sauvage had denied murder.

'The defendant had previously made remarks to members of his family and others that involved threats of violence and how he hated his mother, but it seems these remarks were never taken seriously,' Crown Advocate Graeme McKerrell, prosecuting, said.

When he stayed at the family home in Rue Cauchez, St Martin's, in Christmas 2005, after returning from the UK, he claimed his mother was 'still so evil'.

His resentment towards her grew, particularly when he intercepted a letter from his brother to his mother and became upset at the contents.

He could not control himself and it appeared to be a trigger to recalling when he was younger and had been beaten by his mother, the court heard.

'I hate her, I hate her,' he repeated.

He became more agitated and it seemed that bad memories came flooding back.

The day before the killing, Le Sauvage told his father's partner: 'I'm going to kill her.' He then said: 'I don't really mean it'.

On 5 January, Elaine Le Sauvage went to work at the PEH in the morning.

Her estranged husband Philip Le Sauvage and his partner were at the hospital for an appointment.

A row occurred between Mr and Mrs Le Sauvage. The defendant was seen on CCTV going to the hospital at lunchtime and later his father told him about the confrontation.

His mother left work for home at about 2pm and was seen driving her Mitsubishi Pinin shortly afterwards - the last time she was seen alive.

When she got home, the defendant was sitting in the lounge watching TV.

She complained about the hospital incident and, the court heard, ran down his father and called his partner derogatory names.

Le Sauvage became angry and stood up to leave, but lost his temper.

'Wayne said that he then just flipped and lunged at mum and lost his temper. Wayne told me he punched her. His words to me were: ''I'm sorry Craig, but I battered her'',' his brother later told police.

The victim suffered multiple bruises and lacerations, including black eyes and a split lip, consistent with repeated force being applied to the face on to a hard surface.

She had been assaulted when her head was on the floor, the court heard.

When later recovered from the garden, the lounge rug was heavily bloodstained.

Her blood was found spattered on the underside of the coffee table, indicating that her head had been underneath it.

A post-mortem revealed that death had been the result of asphyxia due to strangling. There was a well-developed broad ligature mark on her neck.

A long, black, braided rope was found later by police in the back garden with blood traces and cellular material of the victim's on it.

The defendant later admitted to his brother that it was with this tow rope he had strangled his mother.