A man brutally murdered his vulnerable partner and left her body lying on the toilet floor while he went shopping and visited his parents. Mathew Pickering beat and strangled Georgina Dowey to death at his home before putting a black plastic bag over her face and then going about his daily business.
Former hospital operating theatre worker Pickering admitted the manslaughter of Miss Dowey but denied murder, claiming he had "snapped" and "lost control" during a late night altercation. But he was found guilty of murder following a two week trial at Swansea Crown Court. He will be sentenced on Monday, February 5, but a judge has told the 49-yer-old there is only one sentence for the crime he has committed - a life sentence.
Pickering and Miss Dowey had dated while pupils at Cwrt Sart school in Neath but then lost contact until reconnecting via Facebook in the summer of 2019 after Pickering returned to the UK following a decade living and working in Australia. There followed a "turbulent" on-off relationship for a number of years with the defendant living in Cadoxton near Neath, and Miss Dowey living in Pontypridd. By early 2023 Miss Dowey - who had a long history of alcohol abuse and suffering domestic violence - was living in a women's refuge in Barry after suffering a serious assault, and in March she went to live with Pickering.
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In the early hours of May 6 Pickering beat and strangled Miss Dowey to death and left the 46-year-old's body in the downstairs toilet of his Beaconsfield Street house. Miss Dowey suffered more then 30 injuries to her head, face and body, including what appeared to be stamp injuries to one of her hands. Marks on her neck and damage to internal structures of the neck showed she had been strangled with a ligature but the actual implement used has never been identified. Pickering then placed a black bag over the woman's battered and bloodied face, closed the toilet door, and left her lying there.
That afternoon Pickering - who worked for a number of years at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen and at Sancta Maria Hospital in Swansea - then sent a text to Miss Dowey's phone saying "Did you get to Merthyr OK? x" to make it look like his partner had left the house. Police later established that Miss Dowey's mobile was in Neath when it received that fake text, however the phone itself has never been found and Pickering maintains he does not know where it is. Pickering then disposed of a small white bag containing a cannabis grinder in a dog waste bin near his house and bought bleach from Cadoxton Stores at the end of street where he lived. The defendant spent the night in the house just yards away from Miss Dowey's body. You can read our coverage of the trial here
The following morning Pickering walked to his parent's house in the Melin area of Neath, and he was caught on camera placing items in bins in the Milland Road industrial estate en route However by the time detectives subsequently traced his route and identified the relevant CCTV evidence the bins had been emptied several times and the items put in the bins never been found. At trial Pickering denied he was getting rid of anything connected to the death of Miss Dowey, and said he had only been putting unwanted biscuits and crackers in the bins.
After spending time at this parent's house and buying a can of Cherry Coke and some cat treats at the nearby Kumar Stores the defendant was given a lift back to Cadoxton by his father who was driving to a garden centre in Neath. Following phone contact between Pickering and his cousin Paul Jenkins that afternoon concerns were raised that there had been an incident at the defendant's house - Pickering's dad and brother Jamie drove to meet him in Cadoxton, and Mr Pickering Sr then called 999. Police officers, including armed officers, entered the Beaconsfield St house and found Miss Dowey's body.
During murder trial Pickering claimed Miss Dowey had drunk three bottles of wine and a litre of vodka on the Friday, and then in the early hours of Saturday morning had demanded more alcohol. He said Miss Dowey had swung an ashtray at him, and then picked up a fruit knife and swung that at him too. He also claimed she had told him he would be "another Darran Almond", words he said he took to be a threat. Mr Almond was beaten to death by friends of Miss Dowey in Pontypridd in 2015. Pickering told the trial his disarmed Miss Dowey and pushed her to the floor, then described how the altercation continued in the utility room at the rear of the kitchen. He said he "snapped" and choked Miss Dowey with the sleeve of her dressing gown for between 10 and 15 seconds until her body went "limp". Pickering said he then pushed Miss Dowey into the toilet before returning to the living room and briefly passing out. When he came to he said he found Miss Dowey's body in the toilet and then spent the rest of the night sat in the living room.
In the witness box the defendant said he did not know why he hadn't called the police but said he was in a state of panic and shock and was trying to "process" what had happened. He said he could not remember sending the text to Miss Dowey's phone on Saturday afternoon but accepted he had, and accepted he knew Miss Dowey was dead in the house when he sent it.
During the trial Pickering was described as a "Jekyll and Hyde" character who went through messages on Miss Dowey's phone, and who blamed her for him losing his hospital jobs. Domestic violence support workers helping Miss Dowey noted he only seemed to want to see her when she had benefit money. Prosecution barrister Michael Jones KC told the jury the defendant had shown an "abject, breath-taking lack of remorse" for what he had done, and that he had thought only of himself. He said: "This isn’t loss of control, this is loss of temper."
After deliberating on Monday morning, the jury convicted Pickering of murder. He will be sentenced on Monday, February 5. Judge Paul Thomas KC told the defendant the only sentence available for murder was one of life in prison.
His Honour Judge Thomas said: "Sentence can only be one of life imprisonment." He added: "I would like to offer my condolences to the family and thank them for their dignity they have shown during the hearing."
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