London man pleads guilty in brutal stabbing death of his mother

Jonathan Halfyard lived with his mother, a retired schoolteacher, at her home on Redoak Avenue in west London.

But things took a deadly turn on April 20 of last year when Carolyn Carter, 69, called police to have her youngest child removed from the house.

In an agreed statement of facts read into the record, the court heard that Halfyard left the home after officers arrived and that Carter then went to an appointment at her lawyer’s office.

However, when she returned later in the afternoon, her son was waiting for her inside.

The facts state, "He (Halfyard) attacked Carolyn Carter while armed with a serrated sharp object (knife) and inflicted numerous injuries to his mother."

It goes on to say, "Jonathan Halfyard inflicted a 10 cm wound to Carolyn Carter's throat which resulted in the transection of the right carotid artery and the internal jugular vein."

Carter, a mother of three and grandmother to two, was left in a pool of blood and Halfyard was seen on surveillance cameras taking off from the scene.

Hours later, he was located and arrested.

The court heard, "Officers located two knife handles with the blades broken off in the pockets of Jonathan Halfyard."

Two days after the murder, two matching knife blades were located nearby in the Silversmith Pond.

While the disturbing details were being read into the court, Halfyard sat calmly in the prisoner’s box staring straight ahead and showing little or no emotion.

After the facts were read, Halfyard stood up next to his lawyer and pleaded guilty to second degree murder.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 2.