'Devoted' daughter admits killing terminally ill dad

A woman described as a "devoted daughter" has admitted to the manslaughter of her terminally ill father at his retirement home.

Lisa Davenport used a pillow to smother Barrie Davenport at Foxhall Court in Banbury on 17 October 2022.

At a hearing at Oxford Crown Court, she denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Accepting the plea on behalf of the prosecution, John Price KC told the court that the defendant had a "history of devoted care for her father".

Mr Davenport was diagnosed with terminal cancer in August 2022 and was expected to die naturally "imminently" by October, the court heard.

Mr Price said on the day that Mr Davenport died, he had been in "considerable pain" and was particularly "agitated".

"It was in that context that [the defendant ] took his life," he said.

He said that due to her father's condition there had been "no suspicion" surrounding his death - until his daughter "confessed independently" that she had smothered her father with a pillow to two separate people.

Mary Prior KC, representing the defendant, agreed with Mr Price.

She also highlighted that the 55-year-old "bore the responsibility" of caring for her father.

"It was she who was trying to get him into a position where he was pain free, or he could at least cope with," Ms Prior told the court.

Lisa Davenport, of Middleton Cheney in Northamptonshire, appeared emotional in the dock as the hearing took place and was supported by family members in the public gallery.

The court went on to hear that the defendant had a history of suffering with mental health conditions.

Three psychologists found that at the time of her father's death her ability to act rationally had been "substantially impaired", Mr Price told the court.

She had previously been found not guilty of a separate charge of attempted murder in 2023 after prosecutors offered no evidence.

Judge Mr Justice Linden ordered that a pre-sentencing report be prepared ahead of a sentencing hearing on 7 February.

He added that the defendant would remain on conditional bail until that date.

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