A ‘roid rage’ bodybuilder who strangled a great-grandmother in her own home after drinking a bottle of vodka and amphetamines has been jailed for more than nine years.
Chase Kelly, 31, brutally strangled 84-year-old Mildred Whitmore during a random assault in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, around 9am on June 1 last year, after he “had a psychotic episode.”
About an hour later, he was found half-naked in the bushes outside a school, before medics discovered he had taken ten times the recommended dose of his prescription amphetamine, used to treat his PTSD.
It was later revealed that he had also taken steroids orally and injected them, and had previously been to the nearby George Eliot Hospital after suffering from high blood pressure but discharged himself.
Kelly, of Arley, Warwickshire, admitted manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility at Warwick Crown Court in June.
He was sentenced to a minimum of nine years and nine months in prison on Tuesday.
Ms Whitmore’s family said in an impact statement they will have to live with her death “for the rest of our lives”, adding that “no punishment would be enough” after her “safe haven in her final moments in a place of terror had changed’ .’
Chase Kelly (pictured), 31, brutally strangled 84-year-old Mildred Whitmore during a random assault in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, on June 1 last year after he “had a psychotic episode”
Ms Whitmore’s family said in an impact statement they will have to live with her death “for the rest of our lives”, adding that “no punishment would be enough” after her “safe haven in her final moments in a place of terror had changed’ .’ (Pictured: Tragic Mildred Whitmore)
The court heard police scramble to Ms Whitmore’s home on College Street after receiving a 9:10 call from a concerned neighbor.
Officers arrived and found the body of the six-foot-tall “queen of the family” — as her loved ones often called her — on the floor with her vest draped over her face.
A manhunt was launched and at 10 a.m. police found a half-naked Kelly hiding in bushes outside a nearby school.
The colossal criminal, who did not know Mrs Whitmore or her family, had cuts and bruises on his arms and legs and was arrested on suspicion of murder.
The court heard that Kelly killed Ms. Whitmore while going through a psychotic episode caused by the drugs and booze in his system.
After the conviction, the victim’s heartbroken family paid tribute to her and taunted “cruel” Kelly for causing her “terror in her final moments.”
They said, ‘We have no words to describe how Chase Kelly made us feel.
“Kelly took the life of our mother Mildred in such a brutal way and the loss is unbearable. As a family, our hearts are broken at the thought of never seeing her again.”
They said Kelly “can never take away the memories” of their “caring mother and great-grandmother,” which will “keep them strong in the dark times ahead.”
They added: “Our mother Mildred has always played a big part in our lives, she was always there to offer love, care and affection to everyone.
“Being in her company made us feel very safe and loved, she was the beating heart of our little family.
“Knowing that our mother was brutally attacked in her own home is destroying us as a family. A place that had always been her safe haven turned into a place of fear in her final moments.’
The family said they will have to “live” to the end of our own lives with Mrs Whitmore’s brutal death.
Kelly, of Arley, Warwickshire, admitted last month manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Warwick Crown Court (Picture: Police guarding crime scene outside Mrs Whitmore’s home)
Detective Inspector Collette O’Keefe, of the Warwickshire Police, said: ‘This was a tragic and senseless death of a beloved lady, who is clearly missed by her family and friends’ (Photo: Scene of murder)
They added that no one should be attacked in their own home, let alone “an 84-year-old, 5ft, defenseless lady.”
The grieving family said they were “proud” of how independently Ms Whitmore lived and how she “always kept herself fit and healthy.”
They added: ‘We as a family are fully convinced that our mother would have had several more years of her life to look forward to, had it not been so cruelly taken from her in the early hours of June 1, 2021. .
“No sentence will ever be enough in our eyes for what happened to our mother.
“No other family should have to go through the pain we’ve been through and will have to deal with for the rest of our lives.”
Detective Inspector Collette O’Keefe, of the Warwickshire Police, said: ‘This was a tragic and senseless death of a beloved lady, who is clearly missed by her family and friends.
“This has been an incredibly difficult time for all who knew her, and Mildred’s family has acted with dignity during the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings.
Kelly also pleaded guilty to assaulting a man in Ryton on Dunsmore, Warwickshire, in November 2020.