A MAN who beat his disabled father to death after apparently mistaking him for an intruder has been handed a life sentence.
Peter McGarry, 53, binged on cocaine and alcohol before fatally attacking his father Malcolm McGarry at his home in Northfield Close, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
The 76-year-old died after sustaining a severe and traumatic brain injury, having been repeatedly kicked and punched.
At his sentencing hearing on Friday, Nottingham Crown Court heard that Peter McGarry was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol and that he told officers he believed he had attacked a drug-dealing intruder, not his father.
"Malcolm McGarry was killed in a truly horrific manner, in his own home, by his own son," said Detective Chief Inspector Clare Dean.
"It was a brutal and senseless murder that left his fiancée and other family members completely devastated."
'Grotesque and macabre'
The court heard how Mr McGarry's fiancée, Ruth Todd, sensed something was wrong on the evening of November 30, 2023, having not heard from him all day.
Late that night, she spoke to Peter McGarry on the phone, who revealed he was with his father and that he'd been beaten up.
Ms Todd took a taxi to the premises along with her son and his friend and the trio found Mr McGarry severely injured on the living room floor at approximately 12.45am.
Police and ambulance crews arrived to find Mr McGarry unconscious with severe head and facial injuries.
Malcolm McGarry was partially paralysed having suffered a stroke 10 years earlier (Image: via Nottinghamshire Police)Attending officers and paramedics administered CPR but he was pronounced dead at 2.05am.
When told by officers he was being arrested on suspicion of murdering his father, Peter McGarry replied: "My dad? Are you kidding?"
"The scene itself was truly grotesque and macabre," said prosecutor Gordon Aspden.
"There was a large amount of blood and the defendant seemed to be under the influence of drink and / or drugs.
Peter McGarry claimed he had mistaken his father for an intruder (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)"He was incoherent and aggressive and told officers the deceased was not his father.
"He seemed to be under the impression that the deceased was an intruder.
"It'd been a truly savage beating with fatal consequences."
A post-mortem examination found that Mr McGarry – who was partially paralysed having suffered a stroke in 2013 – sustained a severe and traumatic brain injury along with multiple facial injuries, having been repeatedly kicked and punched by his son.
'Deep and profound regret'
McGarry, of Alexandra Street, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, pleaded guilty to murder in April.
On Friday, he received a life sentence with a minimum custodial term of 14 years and 123 days, reflecting the time he has already spent in custody.
James Horne KC, mitigating, said his client expressed 'disbelief' following the killing, adding he'd had a 'loving and close relationship' with his father and that they'd been watching football together in the hours leading up to the 'unthinkable' incident.
"He has a deep and profound regret over what happened," said Mr Horne.
"The sense of loss he feels in that regard is compounded by the fact he is responsible for it."
'Almost impossible to believe'
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Stuart Rafferty KC told McGarry he had carried out a 'savage attack' on a man who 'never showed you a scrap of unkindness'.
"It is almost impossible to believe that anyone could become so affected by alcohol and drugs as to cease to recognise the same person that they had been in a room with, forgetting who that person was in terms of his appearance and his personage and embark on a lethal attack, which is what happened in this case," he said.
"It was an avoidable death and you have deprived yourself and, more importantly, other people of a man of value and great esteem. On this night you exploded.
"Some people think cocaine is a social drug you can take, put down and not be affected by.
"If this case serves any purpose at all, it is to again point out to people — both those selling it and those stupid enough to take it and become addicted to it — that cocaine is an awful and evil drug.
"Without it, you would not be here."
