In September last year, Daniel Galloway was planning to head home and spend some quality time with his mum, Vera Hudson.
The pair were very close, and the 33-year-old was looking forward to catching up with mum, who was always the "life and soul of the party".
However, he was forced to cancel as his work shifts were changed on last minute.
Just a week later, Vera, 57, was brutally murdered by her neighbour, and Daniel says he is still "tortured" by the thought that if he had gone home to see her, he might have been able to save her life.
Mark Jewitt, 25, who lived next door to Vera Hudson, sttacked with a dumbbell weight, strangled her and covered her head with two plastic bags before leaving her in a pool of blood in the early hours of the morning.
The mother of five had gone to Jewitt for help after losing her house keys – but he was so angered by her mistake that he bludgeoned her to death.
Her body was found in a stairway on September 19 last year.
Daniel, Vera’s eldest son, has now spoken for the first time of his family’s grief.
He said: “Mum was a really friendly person – she would talk to anyone. Sadly, her trusting nature was her downfall.
“She turned to her neighbour when she had lost her keys, and he murdered her for it.”
Daniel, from Bridlington, was the third of Vera’s five children and the pair were very close.
Daniel says: “I had such a good relationship with my mum; I saw her every week. She was divorced from my dad, but she got over that and she was always there for me.
Over the summer of 2019, Mum met a new boyfriend, and she was really happy. It was nice to see her with a smile on her face again.
“She would put her kids first every time. She was the life and soul of the party and always said how she could ‘dance circles around all us younger generation.’
“The week before her death, I had arranged to go and see her. But I had to cancel at the last minute because my work shifts were changed. I look back now and wonder if I could have helped – if I could have saved her.
“I will always torture myself with that.
“Mum told me everything, but she never mentioned problems with her neighbour. She had lived in the same flat for ten years and never had any issues, as far as I knew. It was only in court I heard that he had threatened her before. I can only think that she didn’t want to worry me.”
Early in the morning of September 19, Daniel received a call from his mother’s best friend, Sandy to say that his mother had been in an accident.
Daniel says: “Sandy didn’t know what had happened – she just knew that Mum’s flat was swarming with police. I called the hospitals and the police – and they told me that she had been murdered.
“I was in total disbelief. I couldn’t think who would want to hurt my mother; she was such a gentle soul.”
In March this year, Vera’s neighbour, Mark Jewitt, appeared at Grimsby Crown Court.
The court heard that Vera had arrived home after a night out – and realised she had lost her door keys. It is believed that she either bumped into Jewitt or tapped on his door to ask for help. The pair had a drink together – but Jewitt later killed her with a dumbbell, before putting plastic bags on her head.
It is thought he may have been irritated as she often lost her keys.
Jewitt left Vera’s body on the stairway, before going to meet his mother in Asda.
The court heard that Jewitt told his mother he left the body on the stairs with a bag over her head and he asked if he should go ahead and bury her.
Jewitt told his mother he had struck Vera - a slight and vulnerable woman - “30, 40 or 50 times".
He had also told his mother there had previously been an episode where he had headbutted Vera.
The court heard how Jewitt suffered multiple mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression and had even previously told health services he had thoughts of hurting himself, or someone else.
Jewitt’s defence barrister, Mr Green, told the court that there was no planning involved in Vera’s murder and that in March the same year, following a prescription drug overdose, Jewitt spent time in a psychiatric hospital.
The court heard that Jewitt called police himself to confess and when he was arrested, he told police he was “sorry.”
Handing him a life imprisonment, Judge Kelson told Jewitt he must serve at least 15 years in custody before being considered eligible for parole.
The judge said there was “no provocation” in the case and said: “There was nothing in her [Vera’s] behaviour that I have been told about that goes beyond the behaviour of a neighbour.”
He told him: “Nothing I can do today can come close to bringing comfort to the family of Vera and no gentle words in the manner of her death.
“It was a murderous attack. Your defence has urged there was no intention to kill and I accept there was, in my findings an intention to kill by the end of the attack.
“It is clear from the mechanisms used by several blows to the head, strangulation and placing plastic bags over her head you had the intention to kill Vera.”
Daniel is now raising funds for Victim Support, who have helped his family since his mother’s death. He is planning a sponsored walk and a sky dive. When travel restrictions are eased, he also plans to complete the Great Wall Of China. Click here to donate.
