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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Mother gets life for heroin death | Mother gets life for heroin death |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A mother convicted of murdering her disabled son by injecting him with heroin at a Hertfordshire care home has been jailed for life. | A mother convicted of murdering her disabled son by injecting him with heroin at a Hertfordshire care home has been jailed for life. |
| Frances Inglis, 57, of Dagenham, Essex, denied murdering Thomas Inglis, 22, on 21 November 2008 and an earlier attempt to kill him on 4 September 2007. | Frances Inglis, 57, of Dagenham, Essex, denied murdering Thomas Inglis, 22, on 21 November 2008 and an earlier attempt to kill him on 4 September 2007. |
| But a jury at the Old Bailey found her guilty of both charges. She must serve a minimum of nine years. | But a jury at the Old Bailey found her guilty of both charges. She must serve a minimum of nine years. |
| Mr Inglis suffered brain damage when he fell out of an ambulance in July 2007. | Mr Inglis suffered brain damage when he fell out of an ambulance in July 2007. |
| The jury reached their verdicts by a majority of 10 to two after deliberating for more than six hours. | The jury reached their verdicts by a majority of 10 to two after deliberating for more than six hours. |
| 'Tragedy and grief' | 'Tragedy and grief' |
| There were cries of "shame on you" from the public gallery as the verdicts were read out. | There were cries of "shame on you" from the public gallery as the verdicts were read out. |
| Before the jury went out to deliberate, Judge Brian Barker told them "there is no concept in law of mercy killing - it is still killing". | |
| Judge Barker said there was no doubt Ms Inglis had tried to take her son's life in September 2007 and succeeded using an "identical" method 14 months later. | Judge Barker said there was no doubt Ms Inglis had tried to take her son's life in September 2007 and succeeded using an "identical" method 14 months later. |
| The court heard Inglis told a nurse she had HIV while at her son's home | |
| In summing up, the judge said the background of "tragedy and grief" will have struck a chord with all who had heard it. | In summing up, the judge said the background of "tragedy and grief" will have struck a chord with all who had heard it. |
| He said: "It would be extraordinary if we didn't feel empathy with the family and what Mrs Inglis had to face." | He said: "It would be extraordinary if we didn't feel empathy with the family and what Mrs Inglis had to face." |
| During the trial Inglis said: "For Tom to live that living hell - I couldn't leave my child like that. | During the trial Inglis said: "For Tom to live that living hell - I couldn't leave my child like that. |
| "I did it with love in my heart, for Tom, so I don't see it as murder." | "I did it with love in my heart, for Tom, so I don't see it as murder." |
| Inglis told the court she had started to research her son's condition on the internet within days of his accident. | Inglis told the court she had started to research her son's condition on the internet within days of his accident. |
| She also claimed she had to beg hospital staff to give him some relief for his "terrible pain". | She also claimed she had to beg hospital staff to give him some relief for his "terrible pain". |
| Detectives investigating the first incident in September 2007 found notes stored under the stairs at her home in Dagenham, east London, the Old Bailey heard. | Detectives investigating the first incident in September 2007 found notes stored under the stairs at her home in Dagenham, east London, the Old Bailey heard. |
| Mother driven 'insane' | Mother driven 'insane' |
| One said: "People keep saying Tom isn't suffering. How do they know? Can they know the terror of knowing you cannot control anything anymore? | One said: "People keep saying Tom isn't suffering. How do they know? Can they know the terror of knowing you cannot control anything anymore? |
| "Can they know the agony of being denied pain relief just to see his reaction?" | "Can they know the agony of being denied pain relief just to see his reaction?" |
| She later told police: "When I wrote this I was sort of off my head really," the court heard. | She later told police: "When I wrote this I was sort of off my head really," the court heard. |
| Inglis said she was convinced the doctor treating her son at Queens Hospital in Romford, Essex, was lying about his chances of recovery. | |
| The jury heard from Inglis's other son Alex, who said his brother's injuries had driven his mother almost "insane". | |
| Following the first murder attempt. in September 2007, Mr Inglis was moved to the Gardens nursing home in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire. | |
| His mother was not supposed to visit him as part of her bail conditions. | |
| 'I injected him' | |
| But on 11 November that year Inglis visited, pretending to be her sister and signing in with the name Atkins, jurors were told. | |
| When a nurse went to Mr Inglis's room she found his mother, who told her she had HIV and threatened to spit at her before shutting the door, the court heard. | |
| The nurse went for help to get into the room but when she reached the patient it was clear he was dead, the court heard. | |
| Ms Inglis said: "I held him, told him I loved him, told him everything was going to be fine, took the syringe, and I injected him in his thigh and his arm. | |
| "I knew I had to help him. I asked myself what Tom would want. He wouldn't have wanted to live like this. | |
| "I asked myself what I would want. I would want someone to love me enough to help me die. | |
| "That's why I thought heroin - a painless, peaceful death. He went to sleep. He was at peace. I stayed with him." |