1:45pm UK, Friday July 01, 2011
A mother who was suffering "extreme mental stress" when she strangled her severely disabled son to death with a belt has walked free from court.
The court heard 11-year-old Glen suffered from severe autism and still wore nappies
Yvonne Freaney was cleared of murder after she admitted to the manslaughter of her 11-year-old son Glen in May 2010.
The mother, of Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, was instead given a three-year supervision order at Cardiff Crown Court.
Justice Wyn Williams agreed with psychiatrists that the 50-year-old's culpability was very low and she had acted out of sheer desperation.
He agreed with the defence that sending Freaney to jail was not in her best interests - and she had effectively been in custody since her arrest more than a year ago.
After strangling her autistic son at a hotel near Cardiff Airport last May, Freaney - whose three other children are also disabled - had tried to commit suicide.
Police found Glen's body lying on a bed, dressed and tidy, with stuffed soft toys resting in his arms, in a room at the Sky Plaza Hotel in Rhoose.
Mr Justice Wyn WilliamsThe series of events you went through would have been difficult for even a person of robust personality. Your culpability, in my judgment, was very low.
Freaney was taken to hospital by ambulance with cuts to her wrists, arms and legs.
She told emergency services: "It's funny. He was laughing when I was strangling him. That is when I knew he was happy.
"I had to do it because now no one can point fingers at him. My only regret is that I couldn't end my own life."
The court heard the woman had moved out of the family home in Penarth and had been living in hotels after a breakdown in her marriage.
She had suffered years of physical abuse by her husband Mark, a former RAF serviceman, whom she married in 1996.
Police were called several times to their home after alleged domestic incidents.
Freaney was seen by doctors several times for injuries, but never pressed charges.
Days before she left him, the court heard that Mr Freaney had said to his wife: "Why don't you just f*** off and kill yourself?"
Mr Justice Williams described the case as extremely sad and "the most difficult" he had dealt with.
He told her: "There can be no doubt that you were absolutely devoted to your son.
"I found this sentencing the most difficult one I have ever undertaken.
"You had a personality disorder and suffered from a very severe abnormality of the mind.
"The series of events you went through would have been difficult for even a person of robust personality.
"Your culpability, in my judgment, was very low."
While he accepted there was low risk of her re-offending, he said she needed help to address her mental health issues.
Article Source KBG Test Blog (http://rc.kbg.me)
