Daughter who told police 'I killed my mother' on Christmas Day gets cleared of murder
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
A daughter who told police 'I killed my mother' on Christmas Day 2025 has been cleared of murder, but will spend the next eight years behind bars.
Prosecutors claimed Stefania Glowka, 64, demonstrated a 'very deliberate act of violence' as she strangled her 86-year-old mother Tamara Glowka to death after Tamara used the toilet during the middle of the night at their home in Devizes, Wiltshire.
The 64-year-old later called the cops and admitted she 'killed' her relative.
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Glowka attempted to take her own life before she called the authorities and a video of police arriving at the scene showed her being arrested while she was also treated for her injuries in an ambulance.
She pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge, but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
After a six day trial at Bristol Crown Court in the UK, Glowka was found not guilty of murder and was ultimately sentenced to eight years imprisonment on the manslaughter conviction.
Glowka, originally from Poland, was the primary carer for her mother from 2004. Tamara had been sectioned prior to her death and had recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
She had also been diagnosed with transient psychosis and began to hear voices and have hallucinations.
In sentencing Glowka, Judge Julian Lambert said: "Your mother had no one else in the world than you - you had no one else in the world than your mother.
"You were devoted to one another.
"You showed extraordinary kindness and gave her the highest level of care.
"You slept beside her every night and did all you could for her
"You were a dutiful and considerate daughter. Apart from this one dreadful aberration, no one could have done more for a parent."
Judge Lambert went on to say mental health struggles had 'distorted' Glowka's care for her mother, hence it was 'very difficult' to decide on a sentence.
"The depression distorted your perception of the available options - your and your mother's future and your own worth." Judge Lambert added.
During a police interview, Glowka said she had planned to take her own life that night, saying she 'could not leave her [mother] with someone else'.
"Mum and I are so close I could not leave her with someone else because she is so dependent on me and she didn't like other people in our lives," she said
"I thought the best would be to end all this here and there."
The court heard Glowka's suicide attempt was unsuccessful, which lead to her calling the police.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.