GUILTY Australia - NSW woman guilty of manslaughter of elderly mum, 2018

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NSW woman guilty of manslaughter of elderly mum

A daughter accused of killing her mother using animal euthanasia drugs has been found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.

Barbara Eckersley sat shaking in the Goulburn House courtroom, clutching a tissue in one hand and her lawyers hand with the other as the jury returned the verdict.

Her mother Dr Mary White, an acclaimed botanist, was found dead her room at a Bundanoon aged care facility in the New South Wales Southern Highlands in August 2018.

 

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This is so heart wrenching, isn't it?

 

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Barbara Eckersley found guilty of manslaughter after giving elderly mother ‘green dream’ drug

A former wildlife carer unlawfully killed her non-verbal, frail mother by lacing her food with a drug known as “green dream”, a New South Wales supreme court jury has found.

White, 92, a renowned environmental scientist, had severe dementia and other health conditions, having suffered a stroke in 2016.

The former scientist was paralysed on the right side of her body and at the time of her death was incontinent, non-verbal and needed full-time care.

Crown prosecutor Paul Kerr had told the jury murder was usually associated with violence, mayhem, anger, revenge and jealousy.

He said that did not describe Eckersley – calling her a loving, caring and compassionate daughter.

 

[SBops]

Barbara Eckersley found guilty of manslaughter after giving elderly mother ‘green dream’ drug

A former wildlife carer unlawfully killed her non-verbal, frail mother by lacing her food with a drug known as “green dream”, a New South Wales supreme court jury has found.

White, 92, a renowned environmental scientist, had severe dementia and other health conditions, having suffered a stroke in 2016.

The former scientist was paralysed on the right side of her body and at the time of her death was incontinent, non-verbal and needed full-time care.

Crown prosecutor Paul Kerr had told the jury murder was usually associated with violence, mayhem, anger, revenge and jealousy.

He said that did not describe Eckersley – calling her a loving, caring and compassionate daughter.

I saw a good friend of mine watch her mother die with dementia. She had several awful falls where her whole face was black with bruises and black eyes. She said to me several times, 'my mother would thank me if I took her out gently' and she felt guilt that she could not do it.
I take that daughter's act as courage. We would not let loved animals suffer like that.

 

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Barbara Eckersley spared jail time for killing elderly mother using 'green dream' drugs

A woman who was found guilty of manslaughter after she fed her mother a fatal dose of veterinary drugs will not spend any time in jail, instead serving a two-year community corrections order.

Today in sentencing, Justice Robert Beech-Jones found Eckersley did intend to kill her mother when she gave her the drugs, but that her moral culpability was low because of her severe depression.

"While I'm satisfied Mrs Eckersley intended to kill her mother, that intention was formed only just prior to her committing the act," Justice Beech-Jones said in sentencing.

"The killing occurred in a context where her facilities were substantially impaired and was both done for love and as a result of despair.

"To compound the sad end to Mary White's remarkable life, by imprisoning a daughter who cared for her and loved her, would simply not be just."

He sentenced Eckersley to a two-year community corrections order and mandating that she undergo mental health treatment.