08-08-2006, 03:22 PM
A British mother was spared jail on November 2 after she admitted killing her grown-up son, who had Down’s syndrome and autism, when she came “to the end of her tether” after caring for him for 36 years.
Wendolyn Markcrow, 67, had, to no avail, begged the authorities for help in caring for her son, Patrick.
After her son had listened to the same Elton John CD all day, shouting the word “Elton” repeatedly, Markcrow was “at her wits’ end," Oxford Crown Court heard.
She gave Patrick 14 tranquillisers before suffocating him with a plastic bag as he slept.
She then went into the garden and attempted suicide by slashing her neck and arm with a kitchen knife.
She lay in the garden shed all night until she was discovered by her husband, Paul, 70, the following day, March 29. Her husband died a few weeks later from natural causes.
When Markcrow was arrested, she told the police: “Something in me snapped last night. I feel sad, desperate, defeated and ashamed.” Mr Justice Gross told her that human life was sacrosanct, but said that he would not jail her, given the exceptional circumstances, and would show her mercy.
“You will be punished as long as you live, in the knowledge of what you have done and what you have lost. The pressures you faced were extreme. In the present case of quite exceptional factors, the merciful course and right course is to suspend the sentence. This case is indeed exceptional.”
The judge added that the risk of her ever doing anything similar in the future was “illusory."
Markcrow, who had earlier admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, was jailed for two years, suspended for 18 months.
On the day that she killed her son, she had finally lost her mind, the judge had been told.
Sasha Wass, for the defence, said: “She was overwhelmed by feelings of despair and she wanted to die, but all the time there was the worry of what would happen to Patrick. She was exhausted beyond reason. Patrick had spent the entire day listening to the same Elton John CD, shouting the word ‘Elton’ repeatedly. She was at her wits’ end.”
Markcrow, from Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, had looked after Patrick, who grew to 16 stone, since his birth and had always been determined that he would be at the heart of the loving family. However, after a happy childhood during which he attended college, his condition worsened and he started punching himself in the face, once so violently that he had to be rushed to hospital for surgery on a detached retina. He also started throwing unstoppable tantrums when asked to go to bed and kept his family awake night after night.
Markcrow cared for him at home but became increasingly physically and emotionally exhausted.
Nicholas Browne, for the prosecution, told the court: “The circumstances are profoundly sad and this case can be characterised as a real tragedy.”
He said that, while most cases of unlawful killing ought to carry a prison sentence, he had never come across such an exceptional case and believed that a merciful sentence would be right. He added: “The picture the Crown paints of the household in the spring is of a mother plainly at the end of her tether, emotionally and physically exhausted and subject to long-term depression.”
In court, Markcrow, 67, wept as her eldest son, Martin, described her devotion to Patrick as "saintly."
He said he had not been aware of how much she had been struggling as the sole carer. "My brother was literally beating himself to death. Reading the documents police recovered from social services was shocking," he said.
Patrick, one of four children, had "flourished" in early life, attending school and college in Aylesbury until he was in his 20s, the court heard. But he developed autism and started to hit himself in the face violently and persistently. In July 2003 his blows left him blind in the right eye.
He suffered chronic insomnia and would sleep for only two to three hours a night, waking up screaming and shouting. He also struck his mother and father, who struggled to control him.
In February 1996, Markcrow wrote to her GP asking for help. "Patrick has always had disturbed sleep," she said. "When he goes to bed most nights, he has the tantrums of a three-year-old. I have threatened to kill him after these tantrums."
Four years ago, he was enrolled in a respite care day-centre but was excluded when he became too disruptive. He fared better within a social integration team, but had to leave when it was disbanded due to lack of funds.
By last year, when social services had not provided Markcrow with a care manager for Patrick, she wrote to them again. "The crisis is not going to go away. I really must have some support very soon," she said.
A Buckinghamshire county council internal email in May last year acknowledged her despair.
"Mrs Markcrow contacted me desperate for some help. I am worried about how she is managing, especially considering the lack of help she is receiving. This is urgent," it read.
Ten months later, over the Easter weekend, Patrick was repeatedly hitting himself, refusing to sleep and constantly shouting, and his mother took him to the GP for an emergency appointment.
The judge said on November 2 that what the doctor saw shocked him. "Over the course of half an hour, Patrick punched his right eye absolutely as hard as he could around 20 times. The doctor said he had not seen anything like this before and he had no idea how the mother could cope with it."
A day later, Markcrow could no longer cope and suffocated her son. A month later her husband, Paul, 70, died suddenly of natural causes.
Mike Colston, of Buckinghamshire county council's adult social care section, which has reviewed the case, said there were services on offer but Markcrow did not take them up.
"Mrs Markcrow's devotion to her son was absolute," he said. "Over time, she accepted less and less help because he was very dependent on her."
The court heard how, following her arrest, two psychiatrists agreed Markcrow had been suffering from depression, which had gone untreated, for years.
The judge noted that she had made numerous attempts to gain assistance but, for whatever reason, help had not been forthcoming. Patrick had flourished in early life, attending school and college in Aylesbury. But in his twenties he had developed autistic features and become violent. He began to hit himself in the face violently and persistently, and in July 2003 hit himself so hard that he blinded himself in the right eye. He would also hit his parents around the head and, since he weighed 16 stone, they had trouble controlling him. He suffered chronic insomnia, only sleeping for two to three hours a night, waking his parents by screaming and shouting.
Both Markcrow and her GP had repeatedly written to the local authority asking for help.
After one meeting with Patrick and his mother, in which he punched himself 20 times in the face, the doctor said: "I have no idea how his mother can cope."
Detective Inspector John O'Neil, of Thames Valley Police, said there was a duty to investigate the killing. Martin Rackstraw, the Markcrows' solicitor, said: "We are very glad the police and the courts treated it with compassion and sincerity."
Wendolyn Markcrow, 67, had, to no avail, begged the authorities for help in caring for her son, Patrick.
After her son had listened to the same Elton John CD all day, shouting the word “Elton” repeatedly, Markcrow was “at her wits’ end," Oxford Crown Court heard.
She gave Patrick 14 tranquillisers before suffocating him with a plastic bag as he slept.
She then went into the garden and attempted suicide by slashing her neck and arm with a kitchen knife.
She lay in the garden shed all night until she was discovered by her husband, Paul, 70, the following day, March 29. Her husband died a few weeks later from natural causes.
When Markcrow was arrested, she told the police: “Something in me snapped last night. I feel sad, desperate, defeated and ashamed.” Mr Justice Gross told her that human life was sacrosanct, but said that he would not jail her, given the exceptional circumstances, and would show her mercy.
“You will be punished as long as you live, in the knowledge of what you have done and what you have lost. The pressures you faced were extreme. In the present case of quite exceptional factors, the merciful course and right course is to suspend the sentence. This case is indeed exceptional.”
The judge added that the risk of her ever doing anything similar in the future was “illusory."
Markcrow, who had earlier admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, was jailed for two years, suspended for 18 months.
On the day that she killed her son, she had finally lost her mind, the judge had been told.
Sasha Wass, for the defence, said: “She was overwhelmed by feelings of despair and she wanted to die, but all the time there was the worry of what would happen to Patrick. She was exhausted beyond reason. Patrick had spent the entire day listening to the same Elton John CD, shouting the word ‘Elton’ repeatedly. She was at her wits’ end.”
Markcrow, from Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, had looked after Patrick, who grew to 16 stone, since his birth and had always been determined that he would be at the heart of the loving family. However, after a happy childhood during which he attended college, his condition worsened and he started punching himself in the face, once so violently that he had to be rushed to hospital for surgery on a detached retina. He also started throwing unstoppable tantrums when asked to go to bed and kept his family awake night after night.
Markcrow cared for him at home but became increasingly physically and emotionally exhausted.
Nicholas Browne, for the prosecution, told the court: “The circumstances are profoundly sad and this case can be characterised as a real tragedy.”
He said that, while most cases of unlawful killing ought to carry a prison sentence, he had never come across such an exceptional case and believed that a merciful sentence would be right. He added: “The picture the Crown paints of the household in the spring is of a mother plainly at the end of her tether, emotionally and physically exhausted and subject to long-term depression.”
In court, Markcrow, 67, wept as her eldest son, Martin, described her devotion to Patrick as "saintly."
He said he had not been aware of how much she had been struggling as the sole carer. "My brother was literally beating himself to death. Reading the documents police recovered from social services was shocking," he said.
Patrick, one of four children, had "flourished" in early life, attending school and college in Aylesbury until he was in his 20s, the court heard. But he developed autism and started to hit himself in the face violently and persistently. In July 2003 his blows left him blind in the right eye.
He suffered chronic insomnia and would sleep for only two to three hours a night, waking up screaming and shouting. He also struck his mother and father, who struggled to control him.
In February 1996, Markcrow wrote to her GP asking for help. "Patrick has always had disturbed sleep," she said. "When he goes to bed most nights, he has the tantrums of a three-year-old. I have threatened to kill him after these tantrums."
Four years ago, he was enrolled in a respite care day-centre but was excluded when he became too disruptive. He fared better within a social integration team, but had to leave when it was disbanded due to lack of funds.
By last year, when social services had not provided Markcrow with a care manager for Patrick, she wrote to them again. "The crisis is not going to go away. I really must have some support very soon," she said.
A Buckinghamshire county council internal email in May last year acknowledged her despair.
"Mrs Markcrow contacted me desperate for some help. I am worried about how she is managing, especially considering the lack of help she is receiving. This is urgent," it read.
Ten months later, over the Easter weekend, Patrick was repeatedly hitting himself, refusing to sleep and constantly shouting, and his mother took him to the GP for an emergency appointment.
The judge said on November 2 that what the doctor saw shocked him. "Over the course of half an hour, Patrick punched his right eye absolutely as hard as he could around 20 times. The doctor said he had not seen anything like this before and he had no idea how the mother could cope with it."
A day later, Markcrow could no longer cope and suffocated her son. A month later her husband, Paul, 70, died suddenly of natural causes.
Mike Colston, of Buckinghamshire county council's adult social care section, which has reviewed the case, said there were services on offer but Markcrow did not take them up.
"Mrs Markcrow's devotion to her son was absolute," he said. "Over time, she accepted less and less help because he was very dependent on her."
The court heard how, following her arrest, two psychiatrists agreed Markcrow had been suffering from depression, which had gone untreated, for years.
The judge noted that she had made numerous attempts to gain assistance but, for whatever reason, help had not been forthcoming. Patrick had flourished in early life, attending school and college in Aylesbury. But in his twenties he had developed autistic features and become violent. He began to hit himself in the face violently and persistently, and in July 2003 hit himself so hard that he blinded himself in the right eye. He would also hit his parents around the head and, since he weighed 16 stone, they had trouble controlling him. He suffered chronic insomnia, only sleeping for two to three hours a night, waking his parents by screaming and shouting.
Both Markcrow and her GP had repeatedly written to the local authority asking for help.
After one meeting with Patrick and his mother, in which he punched himself 20 times in the face, the doctor said: "I have no idea how his mother can cope."
Detective Inspector John O'Neil, of Thames Valley Police, said there was a duty to investigate the killing. Martin Rackstraw, the Markcrows' solicitor, said: "We are very glad the police and the courts treated it with compassion and sincerity."