Son lived with mum's body for months after Covid lockdown let him hide murder

This story contains graphic details of murder that some may find distressing

Judith Rhead spent most of her life caring for others, so when her only son moved in as her carer during the Covid pandemic, no-one anticipated he would bludgeon her to death.

Known as the "karaoke queen", the 68-year-old's family were horrified to discover Dale Morgan, then 43, had brutally murdered Judith with a hammer in December 2020 and lived with her body for two months.

Police were only notified to her flat in Market Street, Pembroke Dock, on 20 February 2021, after a neighbour raised concerns that Judith's window had been left open throughout winter and friends said she had not been seen in months.

Officers were unable to get a response, but through a window they saw a body inside the bedroom and forced entry, finding Judith's remains beside the bed, partially clothed with her head covered with a bag tied with a cord.

A new documentary has now revealed how forensic and circumstantial evidence uncovered the dark truth behind a "doting" mother and son's close relationship - and how lockdown restrictions allowed Morgan to conceal his crime.

"You hear of things like this happening on the TV, but you never for one second think it would happen to your family," said Gemma, Judith's niece.

"We genuinely thought it was a freak accident. She'd fallen, hit her head, and it was a complete accident that she had fallen to her death.

Photos of police on Judith's street circulating on social media first raised Gemma's attention, so she rushed over to see if her aunt was OK, but "never in a million years" could have predicted the horrors that had unfolded.

She identified the body via a dragonfly tattoo Judith had, inspired by a drawing Gemma did as a child.

"We were told she was hit in the head no fewer than 14 times."

A 4cm (1.5in) defensive wound on Judith's left hand indicated she tried to fight off an attacker.

Forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd said the kneeling position which Judith was found and the force and direction of cuts to Judith's ears showed she was forced into that position during the attack.

She suffered a fractured skull and internal bleeding and the murder weapon - a hammer - was found at the scene, covered in hair and blood.

Judith's existing health conditions made her vulnerable to Covid and Morgan became her primary carer after she had a foot operation in October 2020.

Morgan was missing when Judith's body was found and police feared he might also be a victim.

Gemma said Morgan and Judith were "very close" with a shared a love for music, having both played the guitar: "She idolised him, he was her blue-eyed boy."

Gemma grew up with Morgan and described him as being the "life and soul" of the party and someone you wanted to be around.

Prior to Morgan moving in, Judith lived in a one-bedroom flat alone for seven years and her neighbour, Michelle, said she used to "love" going out into her garden, and the pair would chat over the wall.

"She was a lovely woman to chat to," she said.

As regular attendee of choir practice and church, Michelle described Judith as sociable in the community and someone who missed seeing friends during Covid.

In the weeks after Morgan moved in, Michelle grew worried about the cold winter air getting into Judith's bedroom, but Morgan insisted it "does her asthma good".

In the following weeks, as Covid infection rates soared, Michelle asked Morgan if she could chat to Judith over the garden wall but was told she wasn't well.

By early 2021, Michelle was so worried she called 101.

A police officer phoned the flat, but Morgan reassured the officer Judith was "fine" and was isolating.

A few days later, he told Melissa and another of Judith's concerned friends that she had "took a turn for the worst" in was in hospital, but when the friend contacted the hospital, they found no record of her admission.

It was then she realised something was terribly wrong.

Unable to visit Judith's flat themselves, friends rung the police again, and officers went in person where they discovered Judith's body - already in a state of decomposition.

A post-mortem examination helped reveal when she may have been killed and gave investigators proof that Dale was the likely killer.

Dr Shepherd said the condition of her body was "consistent with mummification" as the cold winter air coming in through the open window "effectively turned the room into a fridge" and slowed down decomposition.

Shepherd said the condition of Judith's body indicated it had been left in the flat for a month or longer - when Dale had been living with her.

Hours into the search, Morgan handed himself into police and was arrested on suspicion of murder but refused to co-operate in interviews and denied access to his phone and social media.

Judith's diary revealed what no-one else had seen - Morgan had been abusing drugs, including her prescription medication, and exploiting her financially.

It exposed their dysfunctional relationship and investigations revealed Morgan had struggled with his mental health and abused drugs for years.

Her last diary entry, dated 2 December 2020, gave a time frame to suggest Morgan had been living with his mum's body in the flat for two months.

While living with a body is "very difficult to understand", said forensic psychologist Dr Catrin Williams, it highlighted a lot of Morgan's avoidance.

"Sometimes when someone commits a crime they're ashamed of, people can almost pretend it didn't happen and push it to one side and try and move on.

"The fact that he put a bag over her head is probably a similar pattern of thinking, of avoidance, of trying to detach from the fact he engaged in this behaviour."

Judge Paul Thomas told Morgan he committed a "savage and sustained attack against a defenceless woman - your mother".

"She adored you, she stuck up for you even when you stole from her on a previous occasion. She tried to help you with your problems. In short, you were pretty much her life.

"You repaid those 43 years of devotion by bludgeoning her to death with a hammer."

Despite lockdown, hundreds of people lined the streets for Judith's funeral, remembering her kindness and love of life.

"She didn't always know this, but sometimes we would refer to her, you know, as Mrs Bouquet, because that's the appearance you got from her," said Gemma.

"There was nothing out of place, her house was always immaculate."

"Nothing really held her back, she loved singing... if there was ever an opportunity for her to get hold of that microphone, she was doing it."