Wiltshire woman sentenced for manslaughter of her elderly mother

A woman has been jailed for killing her mother after deciding she "couldn't go on" caring for her. Stefania Glowka, 64, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but was cleared of murdering Tamara Glowka, 86, at their home in Devizes, Wiltshire on Christmas Day 2025. Glowka had cooked her mum's favourite meal on Christmas Eve before the pair went to bed. When Tamara got up to use the toilet in the night, her daughter strangled her before attempting to take her own life. Sentencing Glowka to eight years in prison at Bristol Crown Court, Judge Julian Lambert said: "This is an utterly extraordinary and deeply sad case." Addressing Glowka, who he described as a "dutiful considerate daughter", Judge Lambert said: "Your mother had no one else in the world but you. "You had no one else in the world but your mother. You were devoted to one another and loved your mother as much as she loved you. "No one could have done more for a parent," he said. Judge Lambert said depression had also "distorted" Glowka's care for her mother and it had been "very difficult" to decide a sentence. Ahead of sentencing, a letter written by Glowka was read out to the court. "I