Daughter carried mum's severed head around in carrier bag, jury told

Odessa Carey, 36, beat her mother, also called Odessa Carey, to death at her home then cut off her head, it is claimed.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the 73-year-old's headless corpse was found on her bed at her home in Ashington.

Mrs Carey's head was found at a separate address at a house where Carey jnr was found hiding in the loft.

Carey, of no fixed address, has been charged with murder but is too unwell to face trial for a criminal offence.

Jurors will decide whether Carey did the act of killing but not whether she is guilty or not guilty.

Prosecutor Nicholas Lumley QC told the court Mrs Carey, who used a mobility scooter to get around, was found dead on April 8 last year.

Mr Lumley said police went to an address in Guide Post, Northumberland, and found Carey hiding in a loft. The head was found at the same address, wrapped in a pillow case, in a towel, inside a carrier bag.

Jurors were shown CCTV of Carey carrying the bag around the streets in the days before the grim discovery.

The court heard the day before her mother's body was found, Carey had taken the head to a friend's allotment where she had spent time with a friend.

Mr Lumley added: "She had a bag with her and from the bag she carefully took a parcel, of sorts, the contents wrapped in a pillow case in a towel, from which she produced a human head.

"Odessa Carey spoke and kissed her mother's forehead before carefully re-wrapping the head in its shroud, putting it back into the bag."

The trial continues.