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Browns brasserie founder’s 100 year-old mother was given just hours to live before he and his sister allegedly murdered her with morphine overdose, court hears
Browns Brasserie founder Jeremy Mogford and his sister Sarah Pickering are on trial accused of murdering their 100-year-old mother, Pamela, by giving her a morphine overdose to hasten her death. They admit giving her morphine but deny intending to speed her death, saying they acted out of mercy because she was in pain.
The court heard Pamela had suffered a suspected abdominal aortic aneurysm and refused hospital treatment; paramedics reportedly told her carer she might not live much longer. Her GP visited three times and gave her morphine on two visits, while the carer said Pamela appeared to be in agony. Prosecutors cite Pickering’s messages, including “I am actually killing her”; both defendants also face an alternative attempted murder charge.
In short
- Jeremy Mogford and Sarah Pickering deny murdering their mother.
- Pamela Mogford was 100 and seriously ill before her death in 2022.
- Jurors heard evidence about morphine treatment and messages from Pickering.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The strongest case for the defendants is that Pamela was 100, appeared to be in severe pain, had refused hospital treatment and had been told she might not live much longer. They say they gave morphine to relieve that suffering, not to cause her death, and the jury must decide whether the prosecution has proved an intention to kill rather than an act of mercy.
The case against
The prosecution’s case is that the defendants knowingly gave Pamela a morphine overdose with the intention of hastening her death, which would make their conduct murder even if motivated by compassion. Pickering’s message, “I am actually killing her”, may support that account, while the circumstances and amount of morphine given are matters for the jury to assess.
Explained simply
Pamela Mogford was 100 and living with serious health problems when she became acutely unwell at home. A suspected abdominal aortic aneurysm is a dangerous swelling in the body’s main artery; she declined hospital treatment, and her family and carer were dealing with her severe pain.
Her children, Jeremy Mogford, who founded the Browns Brasserie restaurant group, and Sarah Pickering, are accused of giving her morphine to hasten her death. They accept giving her the drug but deny intending to end her life, saying they acted to relieve her suffering.
The case turns on what the siblings intended and whether their actions amounted to murder. The jury must consider the medical evidence and the circumstances in which Pamela received morphine.