'Reclusive and abusive' alcoholic son stabbed mother eight times before taking overdose

Janice Woolford, 68, and her 44-year-old son, Michael Woolford, were found at a house in Satley Gardens in Tunstall on the morning of Wednesday, February 26, 2020.

Detectives launched an investigation into the suspected murder-suicide after colleagues at a charity Janice Woolford worked for raised concern. They hadn’t heard from her since February 14 but had spoken to her son who had said she was asleep, said assistant coroner Karin Welch.

An inquest, held at Sunderland’s civic centre, heard Janice Woolford was stabbed eight times.

The mother, who had a high level of alcohol in her system when she died, also suffered wounds which suggested she had tried to defend herself.

Forensic teams found a cutlery knife had tested positive for the 68-year-old mother’s blood.

Home Office pathologist Peter Nigel Cooper found that Janice Woolford had likely died a number of days before her body was discovered.

Giving evidence at the inquest, Detective Sergeant Euan Campbell confirmed she could have been killed up to a week before her body was found.

Michael Woolford died as a result of taking a fatal overdose of painkillers.

He was described as a ‘recluse’ and inquiries found he did not often leave the house, own a mobile phone or bank account or receive benefits.

Coroner Ms Welch described the relationship between the mother and son as ‘problematic’ adding that the son was ‘very controlling’ and was both emotionally, and sometimes physically, abusive.

It has been just the two of them as a family after Janice Woolford’s husband had died when her son was 18-months-old.

Over the past 22 years, police were called to 17 incidents – the most serious was in 2003 when Janice Woolford was shot in the face with an air rifle.

She later told a judge that it was accidental and asked proceedings against her son to be stopped.

Her family told detectives investigating her murder that she continued to make excuses for his behaviour and described the 44-year-old as an alcoholic.

Michael Woolford attended mainstream school but dropped out of university, had never worked and was financially supported by his mother.

Northumbria Police had looked back on the 17 incidents and found the mother had been offered referrals to support agencies a number of times.

DS Campbell said: “It is quite clear she would essentially report an incident, and if Michael was arrested it was at this point she would want no further involvement and she would want Michael released.

"She would say she had been managing his behaviour since he was five and she didn’t need any help.”

Ms Welch conclude that Janice Woolford had been unlawfully killed and ruled her son’s death as suicide.

"It seems clear to me that she was a very independent, proud mother but that effectively this has ultimately led to her death because she’s obviously had difficulty with Michael,” said Ms Welch.

She added that her ‘mother’s instinct’ must have made it ‘doubly difficult’ to walk away.

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Sunderland Echo website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here. Thank you.