The dark reality of children turning against their parents is both shocking and heartbreaking. Here are some disturbing cases involving sons who violently killed their own mothers or fathers.
Aston Lambert brutally murdered his elderly father after a dispute over just £50. The 33-year-old attacked 78-year-old Alban Lambert with a dumbbell in their Earls Court home on March 17, 2024. Aston had come seeking money, and when refused, he launched a relentless and violent assault. Police found Alban dead in the hallway, with the weapon beside his head. Aston initially claimed self-defense but was convicted after CCTV revealed a prolonged attack, much of it after his father was lifeless.
Then there is Nicholas Prosper, whose terrifying actions resemble a plot from a horror film. The 19-year-old from Luton committed triple murder, killing his mother and two siblings with a shotgun he bought using a fake firearms certificate. His horrific spree took place on September 13, 2024. Investigations uncovered his meticulous plans to orchestrate a mass school shooting at his former primary school, where he intended to kill over 30 people. His family’s brave resistance thwarted his plans, leading to his arrest. Prosper received three life sentences with a minimum term of 49 years.
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Peter McGarry’s case is equally harrowing. In a drug and alcohol-fueled rage, the 53-year-old savagely beat his elderly, disabled father Malcolm McGarry at Malcolm’s bungalow in Sutton-in-Ashfield on December 1, 2023. Peter alleged he thought he was attacking an intruder, but the violent reality was devastating. The judge described the attack as “savage” and sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum of over 14 years before parole eligibility.
John Sarawanskyj’s motive was tangled in grief and revenge. Following the death of his beloved dog Zeus—whom he believed his father Ivan had poisoned—John attacked his father at their Southport home. He inflicted dozens of injuries during a “deliberate and sustained attack,” later confessing nearby how he had “jumped all over his father’s head.” Despite claiming self-defense during his trial in December 2024, a jury unanimously convicted him of murder.
A particularly disturbing story is that of Robert Child, a former sports psychologist with a dark double life. In 2020, he murdered his mother Janice, striking her more than 30 times and then locking her bloodied body in a utility room. Immediately afterward, he transferred over £25,000 from her bank account to his own and purchased a Jaguar. Child fabricated an elaborate persona, claiming ties to elite athletes and falsifying academic credentials. The grotesque nature of his crime and deceit earned him a life sentence with a minimum of 30 years.
These chilling cases reveal the depths of violence and betrayal some sons have inflicted upon their own parents—each story a grim reminder of family tragedies gone horribly wrong.