A man who made his own mother “a prisoner” before fatally assaulting her and then telling her to lie to paramedics has been jailed.

Darren Constant, 39, of Carterhatch Lane, Enfield, was today (February 13) sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of his mother, Judy Constant.

Ms Constant died at her home in Marlborough Road, Islington, on July 4, 2018, after she was beaten by her son, who had broken up with his partner days before.

Following a trial at the Old Bailey, Constant was jailed for a minimum term of nine years and four months.

After Met officers found Ms Constant dead, a post-mortem examination confirmed her cause of death as blunt force trauma.

Prosecutors said that following his break-up, Constant “took his frustration out on the only person available – his mother”.

The court was told that Constant and his mother had a “very troubled relationship”, with a “history of violence and abuse by the defendant against her”.

Constant was described as having “abused anabolic steroids to build his strength”, and as being “very muscular” by the time of his mother’s death.

He would physically assault a number of his former partners as well as his mother, the court heard.

Police said that Ms Constant was found dead with bruising all over her body, with evidence of a huge number of old and far more recent injuries.

Judy was found dead the day after police had been called to her home on July 3, 2018, to reports of an assault.

Officers found Ms Constant with “two black eyes and bleeding injuries to her face”.

Police say that before she died, an ambulance was called for Judy. Medics attended the address and Darren Constant could be heard telling his mother the excuses she should give for her injuries.

According to prosecutors, when medics arrived Ms Constant “backed up her son”, saying she “fell down the stairs”.

Unfortunately, Judy refused to go to hospital and continued to refuse, despite medics believing she had suffered a brain bleed.

She was found dead the next day.

Darren Constant's instructions had been captured on body worn video and he was arrested.

The investigation resulted in him being charged on Thursday, 18 March 18, 2021.

Sentencing, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said: “The seriousness of the offence justifies a life sentence.”

He told Constant: “The imbalance of difference between you and your mother, in terms of size and strength, was striking.”

Following the sentencing, her family said: “Judy was a joyful person, very open, hardworking and honest.

“She largely raised Darren on her own and provided everything he could wish for.

“He betrayed her love by both physically and mentally abusing her over many years, ultimately resulting in her death.

“No sentence, no matter the length will make amends for what he did to his own mother, the woman who gave him life only for him to cruelly take hers.”