Eileen Dean
(Picture: Handout )A man has been sentenced after beating a 93-year-old grandmother to death with a walking stick at a care home in south London.
Alexander Rawson, 63, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Monday to an indefinite hospital order for the killing of Eileen Dean at a Catford care home in January.
A jury last month found Rawson, who was the grandmother’s neighbour, had attacked her less than two weeks after moving into Fieldside care home.
He was found unfit to stand trial, with the jury only being asked to decide whether he did the acts he was charged with.
The Old Bailey heard how police found Mrs Dean, who had dementia, in her bedroom in the early hours of January 4 with “severe” facial and head injuries.
The “completely defenceless” pensioner died later the same day in hospital.
CCTV footage showed Rawson walking towards her bedroom holding a metal walking stick around 10.20pm, leaving from the same direction two hours later.
No-one else was seen on camera during the same period. The heavily bloodstained walking stick, believed to have been the murder weapon, was found on Eileen’s bed.
The court also heard how Rawson phoned 999 in distress after the killing, saying: “I think somebody has been killed and I don’t know what’s happening”.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Wood, who led the investigation, said the force’s thoughts were with the victim’s family, who conducted themselves with “the utmost respect and dignity” after an “incredibly traumatic experience”.
He said: “Eileen was a completely defenceless woman whose life was suddenly taken away in a horrific manner.
“She had already been through a great deal, losing her husband almost 30 years ago, but she was described as a calm, quiet and lovely woman by all those who knew her.
“We hope her children and grandchildren have the space to grieve together now the trial is complete and to remember Eileen for the wonderful woman she was.”
