Woman killed sister and snatched Rolex, court told

Woman killed sister and snatched Rolex, court told

The Old Bailey was informed that a woman fatally stabbed her film director sister in the neck and stole her diamond-encrusted gold Rolex watch. Nancy Pexton, 69, stands accused of murdering her older sibling, Jennifer Abbott Dauward, also known as Sarah Steinberg, at her flat in Mornington Place, Camden, north London, on 10 June.

Three days after the incident, a neighbor broke into Abbott’s flat after growing worried he couldn’t hear her corgi barking. The victim’s body was discovered on her living room floor with a neck wound and gaffer tape over her mouth. She was not wearing the Rolex, a piece she was “greatly attached to” and rarely removed, jurors were told.

Prosecution’s Claims

Opening the case on Thursday, prosecutor Bill Boyce KC stated there was no evidence Abbott was alive after Pexton visited her. The sisters had spoken by phone at 11:36 BST, and Pexton arrived by bus at 12:45 BST, staying for an hour. She later called her GP, claiming she had taken an overdose, before being taken to hospital and arrested on 18 June.

Boyce told the court: “She said she could not remember what had happened in the previous 90 minutes, which was the period we say she was undoubtedly in her sister’s flat, the period we say she murdered her sister.”

The defendant was described as being covered in her sister’s blood “from top to bottom” following the attack. In hospital, she allegedly asked one of her daughters to dispose of her clothes, either by washing or throwing them away. She claimed the blood came from hugging her sister during a nosebleed.

Key Evidence

Abbott’s body was found on 13 June, the afternoon after her death. Her niece, Mai Pexton, had knocked on the door, shouting for her “auntie.” A neighbor forced entry after noticing the unusual silence from Abbott’s corgi, which had been locked in the bathroom and later freed by firefighters.

Boyce emphasized that the watch, a Cartier bracelet, and the Rolex were of “real sentimental value.” The Rolex was later found in Pexton’s bag, with the defendant allegedly stating: “Oh yes, that’s my sister’s. She asked me to look after it.”

Central Issue

The prosecution’s central argument revolves around Pexton’s responsibility for the murder. A post-mortem revealed Abbott had suffered multiple stab and slash wounds, along with a single defensive wound on her right hand. Pexton, who has no fixed address, denies the murder charge, and the trial continues.

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