Assisted suicide mother cleared of murder
Updated on 25 January 2010
A mother has been cleared of attempting to murder her seriously ill daughter by giving her morphine and other drugs. Carl Dinnen reports.
Bridget Gilderdale had already admitted aiding and abetting the suicide of her daughter Lynn, who suffered from the chronic fatigue illness, ME and was paralysed from the waist down and unable to eat, drink or speak.
The judge said he was taking the unusual step of praising the jury's decision - giving Mrs Gilderdale a 12-month conditional discharge. Lynn Gilderdale was paralysed from the waist down. She wanted to die. Eventually her mother, Bridget, helped her try to kill herself. Bridget Gilderdale had admitted trying to help Lynn end her life.
Today a jury at Lewes Crown Court found her not guilty of the attempted murder of her daughter. Bridget had cared for Lynn at the family home in East Sussex.
It was here on 3 December 2008 that Lynn tried to to overdose on her pain relieving morphine. 45 minutes later she called her mother in to help her.
Bridget then spent an hour trying to dissuade her daughter, saying "this is not the time" but Lynn insisted "I don't want to go on".
At 3am Bridget gave in and passed Lynn two large doses of morphine which she self-administered. This was followed by a cocktail of other drugs.
At 2am the next day Bridget pumped three syringes full of air into Lynn's veins to cause an air embolism. Lynn eventually died of morphine poisoning at 7.10am.
At first glance this case contrasts with that of Frances Inglis who was jailed for life last week for the murder of her son Thomas. But there are key differences.
Thomas Inglis had been in a vegetative state, unable to communicate. Lynn Gilderdale had actually started the process, which lead to her own death.
After today's hearing the judge took the unusual step of praising the jury's decision and he asked the prosecution why it had been considered in the public interest to pursue an attempted murder case.
Jon Snow spoke to Simon Clements, head of the CPS Special Crimes Division.
Simon Clements said: "We were satisfied that the charge that we proceeded with, which the jury eventually found Mrs Gilderdale not guilty for, was sustainable evidentially and it was in the public interest to prosecute it because it was such a serious allegation."
