Janet Connor to be kept in hospital for Zoe Crowther's manslaughter

Janet Connor 52, of Walmsley Close, Church, appeared before Preston Crown Court’s Session House having plead guilty to the manslaughter of Zoe Crowther.

On January 3, a fight broke about between Connor and Ms Crowther, who had begun living together, and the police were phoned.

Ms Crowther told officers that the defendant had a knife, and when officers arrived the defendant said that she wanted Ms Crowther to leave the flat following an argument over who owned the television.

A taxi was called to take her away but was cancelled.

A call was later made by the victim to her friend, where she was able to hear the defendant in the background saying that Ms Crowther had put a hex on her.

Later that night Ms Crowther was killed having suffered 19 stab wounds to her face, neck and legs.

The body of the victim was not discovered until January 15, when the defendant admitted to officers that she had committed the offence.

The court heard that Connor had a history of chronic schizophrenia and depression.

A victim impact statement read out by Ms Crowther's daughter read: “My whole life changed in January 2025, having been told my mum had been taken away from me by Janet Connor in the most dramatic way.

“I feel like a stranger in my own body and something is missing. Not only did Janet take my mum’s life but also a piece of me. I can’t believe someone I have never met before could change my life forever. I cannot sleep properly and I feel disconnected to daily life.

“I keep seeing my mum's face and I hear her voice and I feel guilty I couldn’t have done more to help her. The things I love in life are now overshadowed by a dark cloud. I don’t know how to express myself.

“There are no objects left from my mum, nothing that I can cuddle or hold. She was taken from us in such an appalling way and it makes me feel sick and broken.

“My mum had such a soft soul, and I felt I could have done more to prevent this from happening and I wish I could save my mum. I cry most days from grief of the way my mum died.”

Other victim impact statements, read out by prosecutor Francis FitzGibbon KC, explained how they struggled to cope in the working world and said that they regularly suffered nightmares thinking of how scared Ms Crowther would have been.

Judge Graham Knowles said: “The effects on her family are and always will be profound.

“Her daughter spoke of the grief, the way mum died is too hard to deal with she said. I am traumatised and scared and I will miss her for the rest of my life.

“It was deeply moving to see and hear her read the whole of her statement today, and equally as moving to hear the other statements and one speaking of her mother being taken by the most brutal manner, and her son saying no words can describe the effect that this has had and still has.”

Mr FitzGibbon outlined that the defendant had used crack cocaine on the night of the offence, but there was not strong enough evidence to indicate that her mental state was abnormal, had she not been using the drug.

Evidence given by Dr Henry Ashcroft, who was working with Connor at Guild Lodge, a secure mental health inpatient hospital in Preston, said that there had been some improvement in the defendant’s condition since she arrived, but she continued to suffer from auditory hallucinations.

He also highlighted that she had delusional beliefs and memories and had formed a complex narrative of herself being a soldier who was kidnapped and tortured, that she was the head of MI5 and that she was the queen’s daughter, all of which were mentioned to police following her arrest.

Dr Ashcroft said that the most appropriate action would be for Connor to be detained in hospital so that her risk and psychological performance could be supervised.

“In Ms Connor’s case without the use of substances she is still very unwell and the work we do in the psychiatric unit cannot be started in a prison environment.

“We have significant work to do, when she is stabilised on that treatment and take it safely in terms of side effects.

“We need to restabilise her, and we want to make sure that her medication is at its very best. There is a significant amount of work to formulate that risk and it should be done in a psychological unit to formulate that risk.

“In a hospital environment there is a possible to mitigate the potential risk and manage the disorder.”

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Richard English KC, defending, outlined how the court must look to protect Connor and the public, if and when she is ever released.

He also said that a restricted hospital order would be the most appropriate, because it would be “agile” due to the levels of control and observation she is subject to for the rest of her life.

He said: “It must be difficult for Ms Crowther’s family to listen to these discussions and the evidence heard that the death and the loss and the tragedy is shadowed by the long-term effects of what happened.

“Nothing I have said looks to diminish the awfulness of what happened. The reason why it happened is more complicated and more difficult. It is a decision for your honour and whether she is to blame for what happened and, if she is, to what extent.

“It is tragic in every true sense of the word and cannot make the position of the family any better. But we must consider how to protect Ms Connor and the public if and when she is ever released from whatever detention that it may be.

“If she is subject to a hospital order it is effectively a life sentence, which doesn’t run out, and the control and observation she is subject to is for the rest of her life.

“It doesn’t help Ms Crowther’s family, but it may help others.”

When sentencing, Judge Knowles also pointed to evidence by Dr Nick Plunkett and Dr Craig Barlow, outlining that the defendant would regularly become interrupted by psychotic experiences, which would cause her facial demeanour to change.

He noted that the defendant had been regularly praying for forgiveness but was unsure whether she could forgive herself and she did not expect the family to forgive her, and that she knew she had ruined their lives.

Evidence from all three doctors concluded that a hospital order with restrictions would be the most appropriate outcome for Connor, as she would likely relapse should she be sent to prison.

Additionally, a hybrid order would result in her case being dealt with by the parole board rather than medical staff.

Judge Knowles said: “I conclude that on the facts of this case, there would only be appropriate a life sentence and a hybrid order, you could remain in hospital until you were deemed to be discharged, you would then go to prison.

“In those circumstances, you are at the hands of the parole board when it was safe to release you.

“Their powers are less than the forensic mental health services, who could control your release and have you recalled extremely rapidly or give them cause for concern through their expert eyes.

“I am satisfied that you are suffering from a mental disorder and it is better that you are detained in hospital and appropriate treatment is available at Guild Lodge. The nature of the offence to which you pleaded guilty and your history of mental illness, the most suitable way is by making an order under section 37 mental health act.

“Due to the risk of committing further offences, it is necessary to protect the public from harm and I order that you be subject to the special order restrictions set out in the mental health act.”