by Keith Hunt

A grieving mother who murdered her sister in a frenzied
knife attack in a field in Chartham has been jailed for life.

Phoebe Barton will serve a minimum of 13 years, less about seven
months spent on remand, before she will be considered for
release.

Judge Jeremy Carey told the 50-year-old as she sat with her head
bowed in the dock: "Whatever spark it was that lit the flame of
your fury as you and your sister walked around that field, it was a
small one.

"But it had devastating consequences for you, her and the Barton
family."

Video: DI Dave Withers on
the Phoebe Barton case

Barton, who lived with her sister Karen, 51, in Highland Road,
Chartham, could have faced 25 years behind bars after the minimum
sentence for knife murders was increased in March.

But the judge said it was not the sort of case Parliament had in
mind under the legislation.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how Barton stabbed her sister at
least 27 times in an attack the judge described as ferocious.

She admitted going "completely mad" after Karen told her it was
time she came to terms with the death of her daughter Rachel, 33,
in a car crash in May last year.

"That was the worst thing she could say to me," she said in
evidence.

The sisters had argued while out walking in the village late in
the evening of May 8.

After the stabbing, Barton disappeared and was found wandering
in Chilham a few days later.

Karen's body was discovered shortly after midnight by a couple
taking their new puppy for a walk.

Barton admitted manslaughter but denied murder. The jury of six
men and six women took just over four hours to return a unanimous
verdict.

Yesterday, Judge Jeremy Carey told
jurors: "This has obviously been a pretty harrowing trial because
it has had, perhaps, more of a human element than some trials.

"There were things you would no doubt not wish to hear. You had
an experience which must have been demanding for you."

Det Insp Dave Withers, who led the investigation, said:
"This is a tragic case.

"Phoebe -distraught at the death of her only child - went
on to wreck the lives of those close to her, leaving her sister's
daughter without a mother.

"Our thoughts can only be with the Barton family at this time.
Several members have travelled to Maidstone to give evidence about
the deteriorating relationship between the two sisters.

"We faced a huge task looking for Phoebe in a rural area that
she had known all her life.

"I would like to thank all those officers who took part in that
search and also the members of the public who helped our
enquiry."