Anne James: The loving retired nurse killed by her own grandson

Kindly, loving and generous, Anne James did not see the bad in anybody - a trait, tragically, that may have led to her horrific and untimely death.

The 74-year-old retired nurse had operated a Bank of Grandma, giving or lending money to her devoted grandchildren whenever the need arose.

She gifted each one £5,000 to buy their first cars and would also give them interest-free loans, entering repayments into a little book she kept in a drawer.

But one of her grandchildren kept coming back for more as his chaotic lifestyle spiralled out of control.

Gambling debts

Months before her murder she had given 26-year-old Irvin £1,000 to pay off a gambling debt.

He had begged, borrowed and stolen from all his family, including his partner Siana Wilson.

Eventually Mrs James was asked by her daughter to stop giving him money.

It was a request made from the best of motives but it is one that police believe may have caused Irvin ultimately to ‘flip’.

The busy, churchgoing pensioner, a regular at St Luke’s in Walsall, made jams and chutneys which she sold for charity, storing the money in cereal packets, tins and drawers around her listed three-storey house in Doveridge Place, Walsall, which at the time of her death totalled around £2,000.

But none of this money was taken at the time of the fatal attack on February 28, and this gave police an early lead.

No forced entry

Detective Inspector Harry Harrison, who led the murder investigation, said: “That first night we didn't have a clue who was responsible - was it a neighbour, a burglar, was it a stranger murder?

"There was a building site nearby with workmen milling about. There were a lot of possibilities.

“But as we started speaking to family and friends of the deceased, we got told that Greg was a bit of a problem grandson, with gambling and mental health problems, so there were issues there.

“There was no forced entry into the house, so no burglary. There was excessive injury, raising the question of mental health.

"So our attention focused on the grandson and when we got the CCTV back of the area, showing him arriving and leaving the premises at around the relevant time, it was the breakthrough we were looking for.”

Depression

Irvin had been treated for depression, linked to being bullied at school, for years, leading to episodes of self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

After his arrest he was diagnosed with high functioning Autistic Syndrome Disorder.

His defence team said the condition may have led to a ‘violent, psychotic meltdown’ distorting his ability to exercise proper judgment and self-control, which may explain what happened that day.

But the prosecution argued his medical condition did not affect his learning ability – the defendant had 10 GCSEs, all A-C grades, from Aldridge Secondary School and had held down a job at FedEx for six years until he was sacked following accusations of theft.

Socially, he had maintained several long-term relationships and, more recently, had moved to Bilston to live with his partner who has since given birth to their child.

If Irvin had suffered a meltdown at the scene, it was unlikely he would have been thinking rationally enough to remove the murder weapon, phone and spy camera, it was said.

Varying accounts

He had given varying accounts to psychiatrists, telling one he had planned the murder and others that he had no memory of it, leading the defence to infer he was lying and that his failure to give evidence was because his answers would not have stood up to cross-examination.

Whatever the truth, the effect on his family has been devastating.

His father Mark Irvin was faced with giving evidence for the prosecution, while his mother Jayne was too ill to attend the two-week trial.

She admitted feeling intimidated by her son and was in counselling for anxiety issues. She told police that in these sessions ‘all I ever talk about is Greg.’

Det Insp Harrison said: “The shame of it is his family provided an awful lot of support to him, particularly in trying to sort out his debt problems.

"He comes from a loving, close family who could not have done any more for him.

“The impression I got is that certainly for a number of years he's brought nothing but problems through his addictions and being a compulsive liar.

"They've tried to look after him but he's completely shunned them and taken advantage.

“His grandmother had been trying to help him out but was told not to give him any more money. We think something might have been said and he just flipped. “

Irvin, of Bilboe Road, Bilston, will be sentenced on October 29.