A man has been found guilty of murder after killing his mum at their shared flat in Bury last year.

Stephen Ball, 32, was arrested after his mum Susanne Galvin was badly injured at their shared flat on Pear Avenue in Bury on September 16 last year.

Ms Galvin was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where she died aged 55 two days later.

Ball had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but he was on trial at Bolton Crown Court for murder.

Ball, dressed in a grey tracksuit, sat motionless in the dock as the jury delivered their verdict of murder today, Thursday, following the week-long trial.

Honorary Recorder for Bolton Judge Martin Walsh told the jury that Ball will receive a life sentence and a sentencing hearing will take place to determine the minimum tariff.

Read more: Bury man does not have diminished responsibility, doctor tells court

The trial had been told that Home Office pathologist Dr Philip Lumb gave the cause of Ms Galvin's death as “blunt force head injury".

When Ball was arrested a pair of Asics trainers were seized, and examination of the patterns matched those on Ms Galvin’s face.

Last week, prosecutor Gordon Cole KC told the court this was “consistent with stamping” on her face or head.

During the trial, the jury heard evidence from Ball’s grandmother Mary Galvin and two psychiatrists, Dr Nikhil Khisty and Dr Inti Qurashi.

Prosecutor Gordon Cole said Ball never had a diagnosis of psychosis and was only diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder after the killing.

Dr Qurashi said this manifested itself as a result of the killing that took place and could have been triggered by the killing of his mum, being locked up and put in prison.

Read more: Doctor believes man had mental relapse prior to mums’ death

Mr Cole also said Ball had said drugs did make him angry and violent, and he took substances including cocaine voluntarily for many years.

When Ball’s grandmother, Mary Galvin, came to stay with Ball and Ms Galvin, she said he appeared to be fine, and at the time she was staying, he was not using drugs.

However, the week after she left, he began to take drugs again and this was the week he killed his mother.

But Michael Brady, defending, said that Dr Qurashi became “out and out unfair” when he said in parts that Dr Khisty’s opinions were “speculative and reductive”.

Dr Khisty said he believes Ball’s mental functioning arose out of an already existing mental condition which substantially impaired his ability to form rational thinking and there is a large body of evidence to support that.

Read more: Bury man accused of killing mother at Bolton Crown Court

It was also said Ball had been a frequent user of mental health services since 2012.

Mr Brady said another reason which indicates that Ball had an underlying mental issue is due to concerns from his mum, dad and grandmother who all tried to seek out help for him.

Mary Galvin described Ball as an “explosion waiting to happen”.

A sentencing date has been set for Friday, November 1.