Murder accused's phone used near site where her mother's body found
Phone records of a woman who allegedly stabbed to death a retired nurse suggest her mobile had been near where the body was found, the trial has heard.
Shifnal grandmother Judith Fox, known as Judy, disappeared from her home in Haughton Drive in June last year.
The trial of her daughter Lucy Fox, of Bernard’s Hill, Bridgnorth, yesterday heard that checks of her handset showed that the device had been at a layby in The Lloyds at about 4.14pm on on June 12. The layby was about a quarter of a mile from where the body was subsequently found.
And that the data also revealed that a map app had been used on the phone.
Mrs Fox's partial remains were discovered in woodland next to the River Severn, off The Lloyds at Coalport, near Ironbridge following a police search on July 10.
The trial at Stafford Crown Court also heard that on June 11 the defendant, 39, visited her mother's GP surgery "expressing concern" about her, stating she had been previously sectioned under the Mental Health Act which was untrue. She also stated that Mrs Fox was on medication which required a review to check that she was taking them.
In his statement which was read to the jury by prosecutor Kevin Hegarty QC, Dr Philip Leigh said the note taken from Lucy Fox "was not making any sense".
"I found this description of Judy odd as she did not have mental health issues and had not been sectioned. At about 4pm I had a telephone conversation with Judy Fox. She sounded really well," he stated.
The GP further stated that he was aware that the defendant's father had committed suicide about 30 years ago. He also stated he was aware that Lucy Fox had mental health issues.
The jury also heard that Fox called the Community Mental Health access team on the same day stating her mother had a "multiple personality disorder and was going downhill". She stated that she was not on speaking terms with her mother and that she did not get on with her brother.
Fox, 39, who is being tried in her absence is accused of attacking the 65-year-old – a company nurse at the Shropshire Star and Express & Star for 13 years – at her Shifnal home before dumping the remains.
She is accused of killing Mrs Fox between June 12 and June 14 last year because she was upset that the family home was being sold. And accused of setting fire to a doormat at her brother's home near Bridgnorth home with petrol and aerosol cans.
Fox is being tried in her absence after the court found she was “not fit to participate in the trial in any meaningful way” and is charged with offences of murder and arson with intent to endanger life.
The jurors have been told that as it was not a standard trial and they were only required to determine whether or not she committed the acts and were not required to bring in verdicts of guilty.
The trial continues.
