Chartham woman sentenced for murder of sister

14/12/2010

A woman from Chartham who repeatedly stabbed her sister and left her for dead has been sentenced to life imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court today 14th December.

Phoebe Barton was found guilty of the murder of her sister Karen following a two week trial. She will have to serve 13 years before being considered for parole.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Ruth Dalziell said:

"Phoebe Barton pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but the prosecution always maintained that whatever tragedies had befallen her she was guilty of the murder not the manslaughter of her sister. We think that she clearly intended to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to Karen Barton and it was in the public interest for a jury to decide this fact.

"This was not an act of self defence, but a sustained and violent attack with a knife. They had argued and the defendant had reached for the knife she had been carrying around with her. She didnt deny causing the death of her sister and had the presence of mind to throw away the knife and run off into hiding. At no point has she expressed any regret for what she has done."

The body of Karen Barton was found on 9th May this year. Following a Police search that lasted several days Phoebe Barton was discovered by a Police Officer three miles away from the scene.

The investigation had started when Police Officers had visited the home shared by Karen, Phoebe and their brother at Highland Road in Chartham. Blood was found on the handle of a door to an external storeroom and trailing away from the property.

Later, a post mortem revealed a clump of Phoebes hair in the victims left hand.