Mother weeps in court docket as she’s convicted of attempting to kill her youngsters and herself after husband revealed he was having an affair and left her
A mother who tried to kill herself and her children when her husband left her for another woman wept in court as she was found guilty of attempted murder.
The 39-year-old nurse had put her two children in her bed, then climbed in alongside and fed them a potentially lethal cocktail of drugs before taking them herself.
As well as strong painkillers, they also allegedly took anti-depressants and sleeping tablets, Lewes Crown Court heard.
The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sent a suicide voicemail to her brother who immediately raised the alarm.
Police, paramedics and the fire service were scrambled to the family home in Uckfield, East Sussex, where they found a 10-year-old boy lying unconscious on a vomit-covered bed with his eyes wide open.
Paramedics also discovered his 13-year-old sister wandering around in a ‘dazed and confused’ state, the trial was told.
Their mother was conscious but slurring her words and all three were rushed to hospital where they received emergency treatment.
The nurse, who has been suspended by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, has now been found guilty of two counts of attempted murder and potentially faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
A mother who tried to kill herself and her children when her husband left her for another woman wept after being found guilty of attempted murder at Lewes Crown Court (pictured)
Lewes Crown Court heard the woman had become depressed after her husband announced he had been having an affair, walking out of the family home earlier this year and leaving the country to be with his mistress.
The court heard the woman was extremely upset by the breakdown of the marriage and had become depressed.
Jurors were told that on February 7 last year the woman gathered medication from around the house and spoke to the children at teatime about her plan.
Amy Packham, prosecuting, said: ‘She told the police that she had decided she could not live without him and so had decided to commit suicide.’
‘She had realised she could not physically kill her children and so she had decided that they should all take tablets so that they would all die together.’
She recorded and sent a voicemail to her brother, who lived abroad, which said her husband had been having an affair.
Miss Packham told the court: ‘The defendant said on the message, “The reason why I had to end my and my children’s lives is because of these people”.
‘She said, “My children are very smart and intelligent but because of those two we are going to commit suicide”.’
The mother put a large number of tablets on a tray on her bed and then all three of got in and at around midnight they began taking the tablets.
Ms Packham said: ‘She had told the police she told the children, “We can have more and more medication until we die”.
At one point her 10-year-old son fell asleep and, concerned he may only have taken enough drugs to make him fall asleep, she woke him and got him to take some more.
When her daughter was sick, her mother was worried she might have vomited the pills and so asked her to take some more tablets.
Responding to an emergency call, paramedics arrived at the house at about6am on February 8 and, after forcing entry, they found the family.
The court heard paramedic James Punchard went upstairs where he found the daughter standing just outside of one of the bedrooms.
Ms Packham said: ‘She appeared confused and dazed. He went into the room and found two people on the bed, the boy who initially appeared to him to be dead as he had his eyes open and was not visibly breathing at that stage and the defendant who was slumped over the top of him.’
The court heard the boy was treated on the bed before being rushed to hospital for emergency treatment, while the daughter nodded when asked by Mr Punchard whether she had been given tablets.
The court heard paramedic Jack Brodie noticed large quantities of medication lying around in the bedroom.
Ms Packham said: ‘Later, as the defendant was being transported to hospital, she told Mr Brodie that she thought that they had taken the medication at about 1am.
‘She said she had instructed the children to ingest the medication simultaneously with her, one by one.’
After they had been treated in hospital both children were asked questions by a police officer, with the boy answering that he was in hospital because he had eaten medicine.
Ms Packham said: ‘He said his mum had given him the medicine. He said he did not know why she had given him the medicine.
‘When [the daughter] was spoken to she told the police that they had taken a lot of tablets. She had taken the tablets to die. When asked how she had got the tablets she said “from my mum”.’
The court heard that when she was arrested for the attempted murder of both of her children, the mother said: ‘I didn’t force them.’
The trial was also told she was found to be suffering from a moderate to severe depressive illness. The woman is now due be sentenced next month.
