Woman jailed for murdering sister and taking Rolex

A woman has been jailed for murdering her film director sister Jennifer Abbott Dauward in her home in north London before stealing a diamond-encrusted gold Rolex watch.

Nancy Pexton, stabbed Abbott - also known as Sarah Steinberg - at her flat in Mornington Place, Camden, on 10 June last year.

The 70-year-old has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years.

Abbott, 69, was found dead on the floor of her living room with gaffer tape covering her mouth on 13 June after a neighbour broke down the door. Pexton was arrested five days later, and the Rolex was found in her bag.

Sentencing on Friday, Judge Anuja Dhir KC told Pexton that she was sure she intended to kill her sister, given the "ferocity" of the attack.

She said: "Your actions and conduct after the killing demonstrates not only your absence of remorse but also a deliberate and callous attitude towards what you had done."

The judge said that taping up her sister's mouth was a "deliberate act of degradation" which was "callous, demeaning and cruel".

She added: "This act demonstrates the depth of your animosity and hostility towards your sister.

"You took the watch because it was valuable and because you were jealous of your sister's greater financial security."

A post-mortem examination found Abbott had sustained a number of stab and slash wounds and a single defensive wound to her right hand.

Abbott was last seen alive on a doorbell camera as she returned from walking her corgi Prince at about 07:30 BST on the day she was attacked.

Pexton spoke to her by phone at 11:36 and travelled by bus to her Mornington Place flat at 12:45, and left an hour later.

She then called her GP, reported taking an overdose and was taken to hospital where she stayed before her arrest on 18 June.

A neighbour used a scaffolding pole to break down Abbott's door after he became concerned he could not hear her dog barking.

She was found dead on the living room floor and her watch, a gift from her son that she never took off, was missing.

Her corgi had been trapped in the kitchen and was freed by firefighters.

The Rolex was later recovered by police from Pexton's bag after they visited her in hospital.

Earlier, Abbott's only son Brad Carlson described the killing as a "monstrous" and "heinous" act by a person he had tried to help in the past.

Carlson said the loss of his mother, who devoted herself to supporting him, was an "unbelievable nightmare".

Paying tribute, he described Abbott as his "hero" and "role model", who had climbed out of her early difficulties in life, bought property, wrote books and made movies.

"She was a single mother raising her only child, committed to providing me with the life she was not lucky enough to have – boarding school, quality education," he said.

"Most importantly she gave me love and a feeling of belonging and pride. She was my whole world, she was everything to me."

Following the sentencing, Devi Kharran, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Abbott's death was an "unimaginable tragedy" and that Pexton had "carried out "a brutal and callous attack".

Det Insp Barry Hart said: "The sentence handed down today reflects the gravity of this murder and ensures that Pexton will spend a substantial period of time in prison.

"From the outset, Pexton denied responsibility for her sister's death, but the evidence uncovered during this investigation tells a different story."

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