Inquest opens into case of woman stabbed to death by her daughter

Vittoria Baker, 52, was killed by Kauthar Silvera, then 29, at her flat in Friars Wharf, Oxford, in August 2012.

An inquest opened yesterday heard how the pair had been living together in Oxford for a short time while Ms Silvera attempted to care for her mother who had also battled schizophrenia.

Evidence read in front of Oxford Coroners Court heard how both parties’ mental health began to deteriorate in the months leading up to Ms Baker’s death, and that both of the women had previously been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Silvera had been admitted just three weeks prior and discharged by the Littlemore Mental Health Centre on August 10, 2012, just two days before she is believed to have killed her mother.

A handwritten confession from Ms Silvera, who has since died, told the court how she feared for her life as her mother attacked her with a clothes rack and iron on that fateful day.

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She said in that confession: “My mother was suffocating me, I had no choice but to defend myself.”

Ms Silvera confessed in the defence statement to stabbing her mother eight times, after arguing over the daughter’s attempt to leave and move to London.

The statement continued: “She hit me with the clothes rack which is when I snapped I felt just like I did when I was a child.

“So I stabbed her in her shoulder to let her know she crossed the line.”

It continued: “I could not see where I stabbed her when I hit her in the chest because my eyes, nose, and mouth was covered by my mother’s hands.”

She added: "I feel terrible that my actions caused my mother's death. I never meant to kill her and I hope you can take that into account I lost a mother that I loved."

A post mortem found Ms Baker died from a stab wound to the chest which punctured her lung.

At a court case in 2013, Ms Silvera pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

She was sectioned indefinitely under the Mental Health Act but died in June 2014, aged 31, due to a blood clot.

The inquest into the death of Ms Baker, who previously had worked as an administrator for Oxford City Council, heard how her two children were both put into foster care at a young age.

Despite this, the pair kept in contact with their biological mother, who was an alcoholic, and where possible tried to look after her.

Ms Baker’s son Muhammad Silvera attended the inquest with his grandmother Juanita Marshall – Ms Baker’s mother.

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He appeared as a witness and told the court of his difficult upbringing including violence and multiple occasions in which he saw his mother with a knife.

The inquest heard how Ms Baker was sectioned in 2000 after passersby spotted her carrying a 12 inch knife, it followed an admission to Warneford Hospital, Headington, in which she was discharged after going 'AWOL'.

As part of his witness statement Mr Silvera said the family felt 'let down' by authorities and spoke of his difficulties in gaining information about his sister's admission to Warneford Hospital in the weeks leading to his mother's death.

He said he could not be told anything as it was his mother who was down as the next of kin, but due to her history with the same hospital and problems with alcohol she was not the right person to discuss Ms Silvera's care with.

The inquest is expected to hear statements from more than 30 witnesses, including representatives from Thames Valley Police and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

It is expected to last two weeks.