Killer son Ralph Stephenson may be freed

Mar 30 2010 by Rob Kennedy, The Journal

Christopher Knox, prosecuting, said Stephenson told police after his arrest he just couldn’t cope with seeing his dad in such poor health and wanted to alleviate his pain.

Mr Knox said: “He suggested he was anxious his father should be out of his misery. He said he was at the end of his tether at watching his father deteriorate. However, the injuries were really very severe to this elderly man and there is no proper explanation at all about how they could have been caused.

“Pressure on the chest and neck caused severe injuries to his ribs and larynx but no realistic explanation was given about the causation of the most serious injuries, which are not explained by simple pressure to the throat.”

Mr Stephenson, of Hazel Terrace, The Middles, near Stanley, had been admitted to the University Hospital of North Durham on May 21 last year after a fall at his care home, suffering from a range of problems, including dementia, Parkinson’s Disease and diabetes and having .

By June 10 his condition had worsened and he fell into a coma. The day after, during one of his daily visits, his devoted son killed him. He said he had only squeezed his neck for 30 seconds, although the court heard this did not tally with the extent of the pensioner’s injuries.

It later emerged he had grown so desperate at the situation, that he had earlier asked nurses and a doctor if they could give Mr Stephenson an injection to put an end to his suffering and life.

Stephenson, of Tyne Road East, Stanley, County Durham, had earlier admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Robert Woodcock QC, for Stephenson, said: “He was a man responsible for one of the few people in his life who he truly loved. The defendant was not in any way motivated by a single ounce of malice.

Stephenson was further remanded in custody until a date to be fixed.