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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Daughter cleared in smother case | Daughter cleared in smother case |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A Sussex woman accused of trying to kill her mother by smothering her with a pillow as she slept has walked free from court. | A Sussex woman accused of trying to kill her mother by smothering her with a pillow as she slept has walked free from court. |
| Donna Sheppard-Saunders denied trying to murder Pamela Sheppard, 54, in the bedroom they shared in Ranville Close, Petworth, West Sussex, on 15 September. | Donna Sheppard-Saunders denied trying to murder Pamela Sheppard, 54, in the bedroom they shared in Ranville Close, Petworth, West Sussex, on 15 September. |
| Lewes Crown Court was told she put a pillow over her mother's face while she was sleepwalking. | Lewes Crown Court was told she put a pillow over her mother's face while she was sleepwalking. |
| Judge Charles Kemp directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict. | Judge Charles Kemp directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict. |
| He told jurors there was no evidence of an intent to kill and that they should find the 33-year-old not guilty. | |
| Prosecutor Angela Morris told the court that Ms Sheppard awoke feeling something covering her face. | |
| Ms Morris said: "At first she thought she was having a nightmare and then she managed to pull something away from her face and she realised that her daughter was holding a pillow over her face. | |
| "Ms Sheppard struggled to get the pillow away from her face that this defendant held there for approximately 30 seconds. Eventually Ms Sheppard managed to push the defendant away and she ran out of the room." | |
| 'Apologised to her' | |
| Jurors were told that Ms Sheppard-Saunders had a history of sleepwalking, which her mother said had been a side-effect of the leukaemia treatment she received as a child. | |
| Following the incident Ms Sheppard-Saunders followed her mother out of the bedroom, apologised to her and said she had no recollection of what she had done. | |
| The court heard she mentioned to her mother that she tried to stop her snoring and that she dialled 999 herself, and told the operator: "I didn't know what I was doing 'til Mum woke me up." | |
| During the call she also said she was was on medication, including anti-depressants and tablets to lower her blood pressure. | |
| Ms Sheppard-Saunders, who was described as "childlike" in a statement to police, said she had a history of sleepwalking. | |
| In a statement she said after falling asleep the first thing she could remember was her mum shouting and slapping her. | |
| Her father, Kenneth Sheppard, said in a statement to court that he would often find her in the toilet or on the landing after she had been put to bed. | |
| He added: "I don't remember her hurting herself while sleepwalking. I put it down to the effects of the leukaemia she suffered from." |