Man charged with murder of mum-of-four, 50, who died nine months after she was found injured in front garden
A MAN has been charged with murdering a mum-of-four who died nine months after she was found injured in a front garden.
Karen Youdell, 50, was left in a vegetative state following the horror in Manchester in July 2023.
Tragically, the mum passed away from her injuries in hospital nine months later.
Dean Johnstone has now been charged with murder and is due to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court on January 22.
He was initially accused of attempted murder and assault following the horror.
The tragedy unfolded on July 23 last year when stricken Karen was discovered outside a home in Newton Heath.
Her family were forced to make the agonising decision to switch off her life support machine on May 8.
Daughter Leanne previously spoke of her torment and revealed she “just screamed” when she discovered her mum had been harmed.
She told MEN: “I just remember that horrifying scream.
“I just felt like I couldn’t breathe. I had only been speaking to her a few days before. I still get flashbacks from when I walked into the intensive care unit and saw her.
“She recovered on the outside and it looked like she was getting better – but she wasn’t. It reassured you things were going to be okay, but they weren’t.”
Karen’s injuries were so severe she was left in a vegetative state and only showed occasional eye movements.
Her loved ones were by her side when she passed away this year in a hospice.
Leanne said: “It was like we lost her twice. We lost her the night of the incident. I hadn’t heard her voice since then. I put music on and talked to her, although there was no response.
“It was like a different version of her; she became a shell of her own body.
“It’s horrendous. It still feels like a nightmare. For me, I keep wanting to go to sleep at night and wake up and it’s all been a dream. But it’s reality that’s going to hit.”