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Mother's Day - a day to celebrate and cherish your mum.

But for Molly J. Gladney the day would end in a devastating tragedy after she was attacked and left to bleed out in her front drive by her own son.

Molly, 66, and her son Antonio Gladney, had long had a turbulent relationship and the pair were estranged. Gladney was a career criminal and had spent time in and out of prison.

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While on parole, years after having no contact with his mother, the Mississippi man decided to pay her a visit on Mothers' Day. What could have been a moment of reconciliation for the pair was nothing short of a real-life horror.

On May 14, Mother's Day in 2017, the son arrived at his mother's home in Shannon, Mississippi, armed with flowers and a card - a seemingly sweet gesture.

Reluctant but open to speaking to her convict son, Molly let him inside of her home, not knowing it would be the last time she'd ever open her front door again.

Reports suggest an argument broke out between the two, which led to Antonio hitting his mother around the head with a large garden tool. But he didn't stop at one blow.

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He continued to hit her, striking her with his fists, before dragging her battered body to the carport on their drive. It was here that he left her to die, and she was found covered in bruises to her face, head and even her hands.

The police arrived after receiving an alarm call and found her lifeless body outside of her home. Antonio actually returned to the scene of the crime later that night and was arrested the next morning, before making a confession four days later.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi shared a report on Facebook, detailing the assault. Part of it read: "Investigators found a Black female subject lying in the carport area, deceased from an apparent homicide.

"The crime scene revealed some type of struggle had taken place inside and outside the home that resulted in the death of the victim. The victim suffered multiple traumatic injuries to her head and her face at the hands of the suspect.

"It is believed that the investigation will reveal multiple objects were used to inflict the injuries on the victim."

His first appearance in court saw him admit to killing his mother, right there in open court. Gladney said it was time for him to "man up" and made an attempt to explain his emotional state.

He said: "I wasn’t in my right mind at the time. I was under the influence of something. I have never been emotional, but when I came down from what I was on, I was hurt.

"I have finally accepted what I did. I did something to hurt my family and to break my family up," The Dispatch reports.

Antonio pulled a shank out on an officer while in jail awaiting trial, and while nobody was injured, he was charged with aggravated assault on a corrections officer.

This was another assault in which he pleaded guilty, and as a result of the combined attacks, he was sentenced to life in prison for 25 years.