University manager strangled her mother to death after she said she planned to sell the family home

A depressed university manager who strangled her mother after she suffered a nervous breakdown following a breakup has been jailed for ten months.

Emma Parr, 38, turned on waitress Carol Parr, 62, after she became 'introverted' following her struggle to cope with the bitter break up.

The daughter choked her to death after Carol revealed she planned to sell the family home, before going out for a drive in her car wearing only pyjamas and an overcoat.

Parr recollected little of what had happened though she spoke of disappointment her mother no longer wanted to live with her

Emma Parr, 38, turned on waitress Carol Parr, 62, following her struggle to cope with the bitter break up

Carol's body was discovered the following day by a relative at the home she shared with Emma in Walton, Liverpool, after the victim's employer who runs a cafe raised the alarm.

When traced by police, Emma recollected little of what had happened only recalling her 'disappointment' at learning her mother no longer wanted to live with her.

Psychiatric examinations concluded she was suffering from a 'severe depressive episode' with psychotic symptoms at the time she killed her mother.

Details of the tragedy emerged at Liverpool Crown Court as Emma was jailed for ten months after a judge ruled she was a 'caring and loving person' whose attack was 'largely outside her control.'

She admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after her not guilty plea to murder was accepted by the prosecution.

After she choked her mother, for a drive in her car wearing only pyjamas and an overcoat

Carol's body was found on her bedroom floor wearing her pyjamas when she failed to turn up for work at Penny Lane Cafe

The court heard how killing was the climax of six months of unhappiness for Emma who was once a 'happy bubbly young woman with a good job, happy family, friends and good health.'

The brunette worked as a data manager in the Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine department at the University of Liverpool.

She and her mother lived, socialised and even holidayed together and had a close relationship 'akin to sisters'.

But Emma’s happy life began to crumble following the break-up of a relationship in January 2013.

Her demeanour changed, she became 'introspective' and her relationship with her mother became 'strained and tense.'

The following May Emma took an overdose of paracetamol in a failed bid to kill herself.

Emma was seen by neighbours climbing out of a bedroom window onto a flat roof and folding clothes as if to go on a trip

Carol's body was found on her bedroom floor wearing her pyjamas when she failed to turn up for work

She then became anxious about the damage she had caused to her liver due to the botched suicide attempt, and would follow her mother around and sleep in her bed at night.

By the following month the situation at the house was so fractious, Carol said she was considering selling her house.

On June 9 at 2am Emma strangled her mother, before calling 999 for an ambulance.

The operator could hear 'groaning noises' in the background but Emma then ended the call saying paramedics were no longer needed.

She was later seen by neighbours climbing out of a bedroom window onto a flat roof and folding clothes as if to go on a trip.

Carol’s body was found on her bedroom floor wearing her pyjamas when she failed to turn up for work at Penny Lane Cafe on June 10.

Emma remained missing until police found her later at 10.30pm driving her car 17 miles away in Runcorn with no shoes or socks on.

She was kept at a clinic for psychiatric patients for nearly six months under the Mental Health Act before being charged with her mother’s murder in November.

The mother and daughter lived, socialised and even holidayed together and had a close relationship 'akin to sisters'

When interviewed Parr recollected little of what had happened though she spoke of disappointment her mother no longer wanted to live with her, and could recall nothing about the killing except there had been a struggle.

In court Carol’s brother Thomas Gregory said: 'I can’t believe what happened but one thing is for sure, Emma was unstable at the time.

'I feel angry that my sister is not here any more and Emma is suffering and no one is able to do anything about it. I’m angry that my family has been torn apart and devastated by what has happened.

'Our love for Emma is all that concerns us. If there is any good that has come out of this it is that this whole incident has brought us closer together as a family however we miss Carol dreadfully.

'We can’t turn back the clock and must face the future. Hopefully with support from all of us Emma will be able to have a normal life.

'Carol would not want Emma to suffer in any way.'

Emma’s brother Jason Parr said in a statement: 'Justice is needed for my mum but I need my sister and my sister needs me.'

Passing sentence the judge Mr Justice Alistair MacDuff told Emma: 'This is the saddest of cases.

'Just one short year ago you were a happy bubbly young woman with many happy years ahead of you.

'You had a good job, happy family, friends and good health. No one, not even with the most effective crystal ball, could have foretold what was to happen.

'I am entirely satisfied that what you did on that dreadful night was largely outside your control. I am satisfied that through it all you continued to love your mother and she you.

'I am also satisfied that what you did was wholly out of character - and that you are a loving and caring person who will find it difficult in the future to live with this episode which will form an important part of your past.

'I commend you to your family, to ask you to embrace them and to express the hope that you and they can rebuild and be restored to family unity and to obtain, all of you, some peace and future happiness.'

After the case Rachael Barber, Senior Crown Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, Mersey Cheshire, said: 'This is a very sad case.

'Emma Parr and her mother had enjoyed a close relationship over the years. They were said to be more like friends than mother and daughter.

'That relationship came under strain in the weeks leading up to Carol’s death but we may never know what made Emma take her mother’s life on that fateful day last June.

'Our thoughts at this time are with the relatives and friends of Carol Parr.'

Det Ch Insp Andy O’Connor of Merseyside Police said: 'On behalf of Merseyside Police I would like to offer my sincere condolences to Carol’s family.

'I hope that the conclusion of this case today will bring some closure for them all.'