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| Lee Webster guilty of pills-in-beer 'prank' killing | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A man has been found guilty of killing his friend by putting 27 anti-depressant tablets into his drink. | A man has been found guilty of killing his friend by putting 27 anti-depressant tablets into his drink. |
| Lee Webster, 30, of Dover Road East, Gravesend, Kent, was convicted of the manslaughter of Jason Wood at Maidstone Crown Court. | Lee Webster, 30, of Dover Road East, Gravesend, Kent, was convicted of the manslaughter of Jason Wood at Maidstone Crown Court. |
| He had denied the charge, claiming he slipped the Mirtazapine pills into Mr Wood's beer as a practical joke. | |
| The court was told Mr Wood, also aged 30 and who had dwarfism, died hours after the prank on 22 October. | The court was told Mr Wood, also aged 30 and who had dwarfism, died hours after the prank on 22 October. |
| Post-mortem tests showed he had fluid on his lungs and the pathologist concluded he died from an overdose of Mirtazapine in combination with excess alcohol. | Post-mortem tests showed he had fluid on his lungs and the pathologist concluded he died from an overdose of Mirtazapine in combination with excess alcohol. |
| The court heard Webster did not mention that he had put the pills into Mr Wood's drink until a month after his death. | |
| Mr Wood's sister, Tracey West, told the jury she received a message from the defendant on Facebook, which said: "Hi Tracey, it's Lee. What's happened with Jason's autopsy?" | |
| 'Stupid thing' | 'Stupid thing' |
| When she told him there was no news, he wrote: "Tracey, I'm so sorry, I put 27 of my Mirtazapine tablets in Jason's beer that night." | |
| She then asked: "Why didn't you say anything before?" She received no reply. | |
| In the closing speeches Oliver Saxby QC, defending, told the jury: "I want to make this clear, there was nothing in the least bit funny in what Lee Webster did on 22 October. | In the closing speeches Oliver Saxby QC, defending, told the jury: "I want to make this clear, there was nothing in the least bit funny in what Lee Webster did on 22 October. |
| "Yes they were friends, yes it was meant to be a prank but he didn't intend to cause him harm. | "Yes they were friends, yes it was meant to be a prank but he didn't intend to cause him harm. |
| "They were all under the effect of alcohol. It may have been that Jason drank the beer knowing one of his mates had done it. | "They were all under the effect of alcohol. It may have been that Jason drank the beer knowing one of his mates had done it. |
| "On any analysis, it was a stupid thing to have done." | "On any analysis, it was a stupid thing to have done." |
| The court heard Mr Wood had been diagnosed with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea, which would cause his airway to collapse between 20 to 25 times a night, and Webster's defence team argued other factors might have caused his death. | The court heard Mr Wood had been diagnosed with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea, which would cause his airway to collapse between 20 to 25 times a night, and Webster's defence team argued other factors might have caused his death. |
| Webster had also an denied an alternative charge of administering a poison or noxious substance. | Webster had also an denied an alternative charge of administering a poison or noxious substance. |