Mother jailed for killing brain damaged son with heroin jab

A MOTHER who gave her brain-damaged son a lethal heroin injection to end his “living hell” was told yesterday she must serve at least nine years in jail.

Frances Inglis, 57, was given a life sentence for killing her 22-year-old son, Tom, after he suffered severe head injuries when he fell out of a moving ambulance.

She gave a tearful and emotionally-charged account to jurors of how she had “no choice” and had done it “with love” to end his suffering. But a judge instructed them to put emotion aside and told them no one had the “unfettered right” to take the law into their own hands.

Inglis, of Dagenham, east London, was found guilty of both murder and attempted murder. She first tried to end his life in September 2007 and was charged with trying to kill him before succeeding in November 2008.

Judge Brian Barker, the Common Sergeant of London, told her: “We can all understand the emotion and the unhappiness you were experiencing. The fact is you knew that you intended to do a terrible thing. You knew you were breaking society’s conventions, you knew you were breaking the law, and you knew the consequences.”

Inglis believed her son would not recover following his accident in July 2007, and the judge accepted her view was “sincerely held”.

The judge told Inglis she must serve a minimum of nine years in jail, less the 423 days she has already spent in custody.

Earlier there had been weeping and cries of “shame on you” from the public gallery at the Old Bailey as the jury returned their 10-2 majority verdicts after more than six hours of deliberations.

After the verdicts Miranda Moore QC, prosecuting, said there was no other case of a similar kind to give any guidance on sentencing. The court heard that Inglis had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and had a history of depression.

Sasha Wass QC, defending, said: “Clearly Mrs Inglis loved her son, she was devoted to her son.”

After Tom’s accident she became convinced that he was beyond help, wrongly believing surgeons had removed part of his brain in an emergency operation.”

Inglis’s son Alex said outside court: “I want to say that all of the family and Tom’s girlfriend support my mum 100%.

“All of those who loved and were close to Tom have never seen this as murder, but as a loving and courageous act.”