A millionaire businesswoman throttled her 75-year-old mother and tried to bite her 76-year-old father’s hand during a bitter family row about money.
Stud farm director Rachael Tudor, 49, of Redmarley, Gloucestershire, angrily attacked her mother Janet Tudor in the home the family were sharing on October 8 last year, Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court heard.
Although Rachael had been left a £4 million business by her partner when he died of a heart attack in 2014, she had cash flow problems because she was asset-rich but cash poor.
Stud farm director Rachael Tudor, 49, of Redmarley, Gloucestershire, angrily attacked her mother Janet Tudor in the home the family were sharing on October 8 last year
She denied assaulting her mother but was found guilty after a two-day trial.
Her parents, Robert and Janet, had loaned her £280,000 in August 2018 when they sold their house as part of a downsizing plan. They then went to live with their other daughter, 48, until the smaller home they had bought had been renovated.
The defendant assured her parents that the loan would be repaid within four to six weeks, but nothing was forthcoming.
Eventually Rachael repaid them £124,000 and on the day of the assault gave her parents a cheque for the balance and ‘confronted them’.
In evidence yesterday, Janet said: ‘I came downstairs after I heard Robert and Rachael having an argument and she started shouting and screaming at me.
‘She said “You’ve had your money now – get out and give me your key.” I told her that she would get what she deserved.’
‘My daughter then flew at me. It was utter mayhem. She put both her hands around my throat. She was trying to get the house key from my husband and her arms were flailing all over the place.’
Although Rachael (pictured) had been left a £4 million business by her partner when he died of a heart attack in 2014, she had cash flow problems because she was asset-rich but cash poor
Robert, in evidence, said: ‘Rachael bought a property at auction but she had no funds to pay for it so we lent her the money.
‘We sold our property to downsize and went to live with my daughter while it was being renovated.’
On the afternoon of the incident he had gone downstairs to help his granddaughter with a horsebox, Robert said.
‘Rachael thrust a cheque for £150,000 at me and told me and my wife to get out. She demanded the key and I refused, keeping it in my right hand,’ he continued.
‘She lunged at me and grabbed my hand – she tried to bite my hand but I moved it away.
‘Then she grabbed my wife, who was behind me, around the neck with both hands. I couldn’t believe what was happening. My wife fell to the floor and I ushered my wife out of the kitchen door.’
Rachael denied assaulting her mother but was found guilty after a two-day trial. She is pictured in a police mug shot
At that point in his evidence, Robert broke down and burst into tears in the witness box.
His granddaughter, who was sitting in the public gallery at the back of the court, ran across and comforted him as the magistrates rose and retired for a short break.
The magistrates heard he suffered reddening to the neck and an arm injury and was taken to Cheltenham General Hospital after the assault.
When Rachael gave evidence in her own defence, prosecuting barrister Matthew McCabe suggested to her: ‘During the incident your mother said to you that you would get what you deserve and you lost it and took hold of her with both hands by the throat?’
She replied ‘That did not happen.’
In answer to questions put by defence lawyer Judith Kelly, Rachael said: ‘My mother reached over my father and punched me in the face, drawing blood from a split lip.
‘I had given them a cheque and after my mother hit me I just wanted them out of my home.’
Rachael denied grabbing her mother by the throat and told the court that all she wanted was her house keys back and for her parents to leave.
‘I did not want them back after my mother hit me,’ she said.
‘My mother shouted “Let me at her, Bob, I’m going to kill her” but my father restrained her and they walked away to their vehicle outside the property.’
She added: ‘There was a lot of jealousy from some of my friends and from my mother and father about my inheritance.’
The defence lawyer told the court in her final speech, ‘Never before, in all my experience, have I seen such vitriolic hatred by a father of his own daughter.’
But magistrates found Rachael guilty of assault and they imposed a conditional discharge for 18 months.
They also imposed a restraining order prohibiting her from contacting her parents for two years. She was also ordered to pay £1,500 prosecution costs.