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Assisted suicide man walks free Assisted suicide man walks free
(30 minutes later)
A man who helped his seriously ill wife to commit suicide has walked free from court after being given a nine-month suspended jail sentence. A man who helped his seriously ill wife kill herself has been spared prison after being given a suspended sentence.
David March, 58, from Caterham in Surrey, admitted aiding and abetting the suicide of his 59-year-old wife. David March, 58, from Caterham, Surrey, admitted aiding and abetting the suicide of his 59-year-old wife.
Gillian March had suffered with multiple sclerosis since 1984. Gillian March had tried to take her own life twice before after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1984.
Her husband tightened the string on a plastic bag she had put over her own head. His sentence was suspended for 12 months by an Old Bailey judge. On her third attempt, Mr March re-tied the string on a plastic bag she had put over her head. His nine-month sentence was suspended by a judge for 12 months.
Mrs March had already tried to take her own life twice but had been saved by medical intervention. The couple had been married since 1979, but Mr March had to give up a job in advertising to care for his wife when she became ill.
Surrey Police said that on 19 September last year, there was "unequivocal evidence" that she had attempted to do so again. He took up work as a landscape gardener which allowed him to return to their home, in Harestone Valley Road, to do cooking and cleaning.
Mr March, who had devoted his life to caring for his wife through her illness, found her with a bag over her head when he returned home from work to prepare her lunch. You displayed a selfless devotion to your wife Judge Brian Barker
He re-tied the string on the bag, held her hand until she died and then called the emergency services. On 19 September last year, he found his wife with a bag over head when he went back to make her lunch.
Mr and Mrs March had been married since 1979. Surrey Police said there was "unequivocal evidence" that she had been attempting to take her own life for a third time.
Mr March re-tied the string his wife had put around the plastic bag's handles, held her hand until she died and then called the emergency services.
After passing sentence at the Old Bailey on Thursday, Judge Brian Barker said: "It is quite clear she was planning an escape route.
"She was clearly deteriorating and was particularly concerned about your position.
"Your wife was determined to control and then take her own life when she felt she had become too much of a burden.
"You felt you had little choice but to respect her will.
"You were a husband who not only had a deep love for his wife but who displayed a selfless devotion to her."