CPS Offers No Evidence in Murder Case Following Post-Mortem Review

Gudrun Young KC, leading David Jones (2 DRJ), represented N, a woman accused of the murder of her mother.

N and her mother had been living together in temporary accommodation in London. N called the police and reported that her mother had died. She subsequently informed the police that her mother had been in poor mental and physical health, and that she had assisted her to commit suicide by providing her mother with pills, which her mother had voluntarily consumed. However, when her mother began to choke, N said she placed her hands around her neck in order to prevent her suffering and hasten her end.

N was adamant that she had acted in her mother’s best interests and made clear her views that Assisted Dying should be legalised in this country.

Shortly before she was due to stand trial for murder, a further post-mortem report confirmed that strangulation had not been a contributory cause of death. Following representations from the defence and a full review by the CPS, the Crown offered no evidence, and N was released from custody.

The CPS are considering whether or not the Full Code Test has been met for a further prosecution for assisting a suicide. In the meantime, N is not under any formal investigation and has vowed to devote herself to campaigning for a change in the law.

Gudrun and David were instructed by Duncan Lewis & Co.