Woman 'murdered neighbour after blaming her untidy home for stalling house sale

[PippaJane]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-murdered-neighbour-after-blaming-21475940?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=EM_Mirror_Nletter_DailyNews_News_mediumteaser_Image_Story&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter

Woman 'murdered neighbour after blaming her untidy home for stalling house sale'

Debby Foxwell, 40, is accused of hitting neighbour Louise Lotz, 64, over the head with a spade following dispute lasting years over her 'untidy' garden and home
By Louie Smith

16:28, 11 FEB 2020 Updated17:38, 11 FEB 2020

A woman murdered her next-door neighbour with a spade after blaming her untidy home for stalling a planned house move, a court has heard.  Debby Foxwell, 40, allegedly developed a "visceral hatred" of Louise Lotz, 64, following years of rows about her overgrown garden and "cluttered" home.  Following one argument conducted over a back garden fence, she is said to have grabbed a spade from a shed before kicking down her neighbour's front door.  When Louise tried to flee she was caught by Foxwell, who is accused of "repeatedly" striking her head with the tool.  Prosecutor Alan Blake said: “It was a sustained, brutal and merciless attack.  At around 8 pm on a late Summer’s day last year, after a day of tension and disputes over the fence, this defendant went to her shed in her back garden and picked up a spade.  She walked through her house, number 10, and kicked open the door of number 8 in a furious rage. She used a spade to smash electrical items in the lounge before pursuing her neighbour, who made a run for safety.  Louise Lotz got to the front door of number 6. Debby Foxwell caught her and repeatedly bludgeoned her with a spade, before causing catastrophic injuries to her head.  The sustained ferocity of the attack and the number of blows make it plain she intended to kill her and she succeeded in doing so.”

The attack in Welwyn Garden City, Herts., last August followed years of bad blood between the pair, Saint Albans Crown Court heard.  Louise, living at number 8, was described by Mr Blake as an "untidy hoarder".  Witnesses said her house was "a mess" while Foxwell's garden was "perfect".  Mr Blake added: "She was something of an untidy hoarder. The rear garden was overgrown and unloved. The interior was cluttered."

Mr Blake added that she and Foxwell fell out over "petty matters: boundaries, bins, and borders.”

From 2015 onwards, disputes between the pair were frequently reported to the police by both parties.  In 2016, Foxwell was prosecuted for assault and criminal damage against Louise.  Her husband Paul died of cancer in the same year but by 2019 she was in a new relationship and planning to move.  Mr Blake added: "She blamed Louise Lotz, rightly or wrongly, for not being able to sell her property.”

Last July, Community Protection Warning Notices were issued to both women banning them from harassing, trespassing or taking photographs of each other.  The jury heard that on August 24 Louise grabbed Foxwell's mobile phone as she filmed her moving a wheelie bin.  Louise's lodger Liam Graham described the following confrontation.  He said: "Debby had a spade in her hand. She said ‘Where is she?’ I said ‘Who?’ She said ‘You know who.’ I said: ‘I don’t know where she is.

He said Foxwell walked off and later allegedly told her partner: “It’s over. I have done it.”

Foxwell denies murder but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.  The trial continues.