A BURGLAR who beat a gran to death has been jailed for life after he was captured in terrifying doorbell footage smashing into her home.
Catherine “Queenie” Flynn, 69, was dragged from her bed by Dean Mears, who broke every bone in her face in the random killing.
Dean Mears was captured breaking into a gran’s homeWNS
WNSCatherine ‘Queenie’ Flynn was dragged from her bed and stomped to death[/caption]
Mears was seen two minutes later escaping through the windowWNS
Her daughter Natasha Flynn-Farrell was forced to listen to her mum’s final moments after the attack was caught on a doorbell cam.
Mears has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 27 years after he was convicted of murder.
Sentencing, Judge Rhys Rowlands said the killing was “truly horrific” and “senseless”.
The judge added: “Mrs Flynn had been an extremely vulnerable lady who was killed by you in what should have been the safety of her own home after you had broken in.”
Footage showed Mears ringing the bell at the home in Rhyl, North Wales, after he had taken cannabis and ketamine.
The 34-year-old, who did not know Catherine, was then captured smashing a downstairs window to gain access to the house to burgle it.
Once inside, Mears stomped on 4ft 10ins Catherine 15 times in a “senseless” attack.
Tragically, the doorbell footage triggered a message on Natasha’s phone – meaning she was forced to helplessly listen to her mum.
Brave Natasha kept the app open in order to record the video, which provided key evidence in the harrowing case.
As a result, she told how she just “had to watch it play out” as her mum desperately begged “please don’t”.
Mears could also be heard yelling, “Where are the keys?” as Catherine pleaded with him not to hurt her.
Natasha said: “It was horrendous, it was sickening.”
Mears was then captured just two minutes later throwing himself through the broken window and fleeing.
Frail Catherine, who used a Zimmer frame, suffered catastrophic injuries before dying the next day in hospital.
Caernarfon Crown Court heard after the horror last October, Mears returned to his pal’s home and stripped off his trousers and underwear.
He was then seen on CCTV walking semi-naked around the town.
Mears admitted he had carried out the attack but claimed he had no recollection.
Prosecutor Andrew Jones said Mears had left Catherine “dying on the floor of her own bedroom”.
A post-mortem likened the injuries Catherine suffered to those seen in car crashes.
A pathologist said the wounds were caused by “repeated, severe blunt force trauma that shattered all her facial bones”.
He added: “He inflicted such severe damage to the face of Mrs Flynn that she had no chance of surviving this vicious, unprovoked assault.”
Catherine’s family described the gran as a “rock” and best friend to her three children and said “her house was so welcoming and warm”.
They said: “Catherine was a wonderful mum, nan, great nan, auntie, and sister, and also a second mother to many and a great friend.
“She loved her family more than anything, she was a fantastic cook and was always wanting to feed anyone in her company.
“Her pride and joy (after her family) was her love for her garden, she would sit for hours just watching the birds and the bees come in and out of her little wonderland, with every flower imaginable.
“We often wondered how her garden was always so beautiful – now we know, it’s because she was the ray of sunshine.”
WNSMears has been jailed for life[/caption]
WNSCatherine’s final moments were heard by her daughter[/caption]
WNSAll the bones in her face were shattered in the horror[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
