A son has been convicted of manslaughter and failing to help his mother after she fell in the bathroom of their Carlisle home and lay on the floor for a fortnight before her death in hospital.
Carlisle Crown Court heard how 56-year-old Stewart Irwin finally dialled 999 on the early afternoon of July 28 2023, reporting that Veronica Irwin’s skin had started to turn blue two weeks after she had fallen over.
Irwin reported that his mother had been refusing help and described her as “just one of them stubborn old women”.
Paramedics attended the ground floor Rydal Street flat. They found the pensioner unconscious and malnourished while lying in a recovery-type position.
Prosecutor Phil Barnes KC said: “Parts of her body were infested with maggots.”
Medics initially thought Mrs Irwin — 4ft 10in and just over seven stones in weight — was already dead.
She was, in fact, barely alive. She was taken to hospital but died later that evening from hypothermia and neglected pressure ulcers which covered more than a third of her body surface. These caused sepsis.
“If only she had been moved, or had had medical attention sooner, she undoubtedly would have survived,” suggested Mr Barnes.
Irwin denied manslaughter by gross negligence but this afternoon (wed) was convicted, unanimously, by a jury who heard harrowing evidence of Mrs Irwin’s injuries and saw graphic photographs which captured the squalid condition of their home.
Opening the case to jurors, Mr Barnes had said Irwin “owed his mother a duty of care”.
“The prosecution say that this defendant, Stewart Irwin, is responsible for his mother’s death. We do not say he meant to kill her.
“We do not say that he was responsible for her falling to the floor in the first place. We do not say that he intended to harm her,” said Mr Barnes.
“But he lived with her in a small two-bedroom flat. The bathroom she was lying in was the only one in the flat. He must have been stepping over her every few hours simply to use the toilet or brush his teeth.”
Irwin told others — including the 999 call handler and police — that he was his mother’s carer.
But jurors heard that during the fortnight in which she lay on the bathroom door, Irwin made nine separate visits to a nearby shop to buy bottles of Frosty Jack cider.
The last time he visited the One Stop store on Fusehill Street was mid-afternoon on July 27 — the day before he dialled 999.
Pathological tests showed Mrs Irwin’s blood, in the final hours, did not contain any alcohol. A pathologist, asked whether alcohol played any part in her death, replied: “Not in my view.”
On July 19 and July 24 he withdrew cash from his mother’s bank account.
Irwin opted not to give evidence during his trial. Jurors heard he had previously been interviewed by a clinical psychologist.
Irwin told the psychologist he had “tried to help” his mother who, he claimed, had “repeatedly refused” assistance.
That same psychologist found no evidence to conclude that Irwin lacked decision-making capacity after conducting tests to determine his level of intellectual functioning.
Nor did the doctor find anything in his assessment which would suggest Irwin had any defects in his ability to make independent decisions.
After hearing evidence over the course of around a week, jurors found Irwin guilty, unanimously, of manslaughter. Their verdict was delivered around two hours after their retired to start deliberating.
In the court dock, Irwin showed no emotion as the verdict was announced by the jury foreman.
Trial judge Mr Justice Bright adjourned the case for preparation of a probation service pre-sentence report.
Irwin is due to receive his sentence at the crown court on September 11 and in the meantime he has been granted conditional bail.
