Cheryl Banks, 60, smothered her 89-year-old mother Winifred Grover to death in their shared house in Lenmore Avenue last June.
Essex Police were called to the address where they found Winifred unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives discovered Winifred had on-set dementia and Alzheimer’s. She had been living with Banks and her family for the last three years as Banks was her primary carer.
Prior to their arrival at the scene, Banks had told members of her family that she had killed Winifred.
In a prepared statement to officers, she claimed she had experienced mental health problems for some time and that she loved her mother very much.
Following a trial at Basildon Crown Court she was found not guilty of murder yesterday.
However, she had already admitted to manslaughter by diminished responsibility. She is due to be sentenced on Friday, 1 April.
“This is a truly tragic case and one that has really saddened me and my team, said Detective Inspector Kevin Hughes.
“Winifred Grover was an elderly woman in need of constant care.
“It is clear to me that Cheryl Banks was struggling with her own mental health and with the demands of being her mother’s full-time carer.
“Sadly, this led to her taking matters into her own hands.
“I know there may well be empathy for the position Banks found herself in, but there can be no justification for taking the life of someone else.”
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Tags: Essex, Grays, Thurrock, Essex Police, Manslaughter
