Luxury hotelier, 78, and his sister to face trial after siblings deny murder of 100-year-old mother

A businessman who owns a chain of luxury five star hotels in Oxford will face trial with his sister over the alleged murder of their 100-year-old mother.

Jeremy Mogford, 78, and Sarah Pickering, 71, are accused of killing Pamela Mogford in February 2022.

The pair were each charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder in October and released on bail.

Both appeared at Oxford Crown Court via video link today and entered pleas of not guilty.

A four-week trial is set to start on November 9 this year.

Mogford, owner of the Old Bank Hotel in Oxford's High Street, and Pickering, of Guildford, Surrey were charged in connection with Ms Mogford's death on February 15, 2022 in Bledlow Ridge, Buckinghamshire.

During the short hearing they spoke only to confirm their identity and pleas.

A statement released by Thames Valley Police last year read: 'Now that charges have been made, the force will not be in a position to provide any further details as proceedings are now active.'

The daughter of a Wycombe insurance broker, Jake Bennett, Ms Mogford married Maj Peter Mogford in 1946 when he was demobilised from the Army after service at Dunkirk and in North Africa, Cyprus, Italy and India.

The couple was married for 70 years until his death in 2015.

Peter Mogford had followed his parents into the hotel industry, operating hotels in High Wycombe, Egham, Windsor and Oxford.

Ms Mogford continued living in Bledlow Ridge, her home since her marriage.

A death notice published at the time described her as active in village life, 'fun-loving', always generating joy and laughter to many who feel privileged to have had her in their lives for so long'.

Thames Valley Police said in 2023 its major crime unit was investigating the circumstances surrounding Ms Mogford's death.