Man who murdered his grandma by strangling her and setting the house on fire over debts jailed for life
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A man who sneaked into his grandmother’s house while she slept and strangled her to gain money from her will has been jailed for life.
Joshua Powell, 27, killed 96-year-old Emma Finch and then set fire to her home in Mill Road, Liss, in the early hours of May 17 last year. He was sentenced today (November 14) at Portsmouth Crown Court, and will serve a minimum term of 26 years, with his mum declaring she will struggle to forgive him.
Powell would visit his grandmother, whom he called oma, once a week, and called her the “one constant in my life that I could count on”, in an apology letter he wrote to court. The court heard he was in debt, owed money to his landlord and “snapped”.
Judge Michael Bowes KC said: “Emma Finch, your grandmother, showed you great kindness and gave you a great deal of money during her life. You repaid her kindness by savagely killing her in the expectation of gaining money from her death under her will.”
Family members said in victim impact statements read out by the prosecutor that they will never forgive Powell. The defendant’s mother, Catherine Powell, who is Ms Finch’s daughter, said she “will struggle ever to forgive him for what he has done”.
Peter Finch, Ms Finch’s son and Powell’s uncle, said: “One of my biggest fears is that mum in those final seconds before she lost consciousness as you were strangling her, that she knew it was you Joshua and that being her final, haunting memory that she took to her grave.
“You, Joshua, betrayed your mum’s, your oma’s, love that night and that is something for which I can never forgive you. I hope you are deeply tormented by those acts for the rest of your life. Did my mum, your oma, really deserve to be murdered for the balance of your inheritance? The question that only you can answer.”
In his letter to the court, Powell said he does not forgive himself. “The word sorry does not even begin to cover how I feel for the unforgivable, truly horrible crime I committed,” the defendant wrote.
“Oma was the one constant in my life that I could count on. She was there for me no matter how good or bad I behaved as a child. She was a wonderful, caring, loving, happy woman who when entering a room suddenly brightened it up tenfold. Forgiveness is not something I expect from any member of the family. Not even I forgive the actions I took on that fateful day. The guilt is something I will have to learn to live with. It eats away at me, gnawing my bran and thoughts every single second each day. From the bottom of my now destroyed heart and soul I truly am sorry.”
The court heard that Powell was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome and found to have reduced cognitive function, but the judge said he “knew perfectly well the difference between right and wrong”. Powell, of Elmfield Court, Lindford, pleaded guilty in May to murdering his grandmother.
In the early hours fire crews were called to Mrs Finch’s home after a carbon monoxide alarm triggered an automatic alert. They forced their way in and found a fire coming from the back bedroom. The post-mortem examination concluded that Mrs Finch had been killed by being strangled. Powell then set fire to her bed on which she lay to try to cover his tracks.
CCTV evidence showed Powell leaving his flat with a belt, which he later discarded in bushes nearby. On the day of Mrs Finch’s death, both doors were locked, forcing the fire service to break in. The back door key safe was found open with the key missing. Powell falsely claimed ignorance of the code, but analysis of his phone revealed the code was noted a month before the killing.
Powell switched off the location finder on his phone, but police were able to track his movements in his car via ANPR cameras. Shortly after 5am, an hour after the killing, phone data revealed a Snapchat message to his friend, telling her he had a nightmare about killing his oma.
In the weeks leading up to Mrs Finch’s death, Powell told friends he “hoped his nan died soon because he was skint” and that he thought he was the only one to receive money in her will. He also spoke to a colleague, on the day of her death, about the prospect of his inheritance, and how much he understood Mrs Finch’s estate to be worth.
Powell’s motive of financial gain was driven by significant debts. Evidence showed arrears of £2,550 owed to his landlord, prompting debt collection, and additional liabilities of approximately £8,000 to various companies, with repeated failure to respond to letters.
Marie Watton, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Joshua Powell mercilessly strangled his 96-year-old grandmother to gain inheritance money and pay off his debts. We built a strong and compelling case against Powell, using phone data, CCTV, ANPR and forensic evidence which resulted in him pleading guilty. Powell’s actions stole Emma Finch’s final years and caused deep anguish to her loved ones. Our thoughts and condolences remain with the family at this exceptionally difficult time.”