Woman murdered sister and took her Rolex watch

A woman has been found guilty of murdering her film director sister Jennifer Abbott Dauward in her home in north London.

Nancy Pexton, then 69, stabbed Abbott - also known as Sarah Steinberg - at her flat in Mornington Place, Camden, on 10 June last year.

Abbott, 69, who was nine months older than Pexton, 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 after her sister was found dead, when Abbott's diamond-encrusted gold Rolex watch was found in her bag, her Old Bailey trial heard.

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 Rolex 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.

In the two days after Abbott's death, there were numerous missed calls from her son, who lives abroad.

Brad Carlson described a "bubbling" resentment between his mother and aunt.

Giving evidence via video-link, Carlson said: "There was interaction and sometimes anger and hostility between my mother and Nancy; there was resentment seemingly bubbling up."

In a series of notes on Pexton's phone, she referred to thinking about killing her "evil" sister and complained about other family members.

Pexton, of no fixed address, denied wrongdoing and declined to give evidence in her trial, opting to appear in court by video-link from Bronzefield Prison.

Following the guilty verdict, Judge Anuja Dhir KC adjourned sentencing to Friday.

Devi Kharran, a prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, said Pexton carried out a "brutal and callous attack" on her sister, who "should have been able to trust" her.

"Despite her repeated denials, the evidence presented in court by the prosecution all pointed to one clear conclusion, and Pexton was found guilty of murder," Kharran said.

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