Octogenarian Who Murdered Dementia-Suffering Wife As ‘Mercy Killing’, Spared Jail

An 84-year-old who battered his 86-year-old wife to death in England was spared from a jail sentence Thursday after the court heard his heartbreaking tale of “mercy-killing.”

Lawrence Franks, a former lifeguard and bus driver, was married to Patricia Franks for 62 years before the latter deliberately ended his dementia-stricken wife’s life, in order to keep a promise made to his sick spouse that he will never let her get admitted to a care facility, The Sun reported.

While Patricia had been suffering from dementia for the last 10 years. It became almost impossible for Lawrence to cope with her sickness as it grew worse and she refused to recognize him anymore.

He even suffered a hernia because of his increasing physical exhaustions in moving his wife to and from her bed and to the armchair in their home in Gatley, near Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.

That is when he realized that he no longer could take care of her alone and needed assistance, which could only be provided at a care home for the elderly. It was also when he remembered his wife begging him in the initial days of her sickness not to ever let her be transferred to a care facility.

Dealing with the “inevitable prospect” of breaking a promise made to his wife, on July 8, Lawrence repeatedly hit Patricia on the head with a piece of scaffolding. When he was not convinced she had died, he smothered her with a pillow till she stopped breathing. Following the incident, the elderly man was charged with murder.

Taking into account the fact that the victim “was completely unaware of what happened to her" and that “there was an abnormality in your (Lawrence’s) mental function,” the judge presiding over the Manchester Crown court decided to give the man a two-year suspended prison sentence meaning he will not be put behind bars, after accepting his guilty plea to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.

Judge David Stockdale described the defendant as a “devoted man” who showed “nothing but love and affection” for his suffering spouse.

“This is a most unusual and very sad case and most would say heartbreaking. You and your wife were happily married for 62 years. You were utterly devoted to each other throughout your marriage and during the decline in her health as you cared for her. You took care of her despite your own age without outside help and your dedicated to her was undoubtedly unconditional,” the judge said before delivering the verdict.

He further added: “I have heard there were alterations to your own home including rails, converting the garage into a downstairs bedroom for her so she could continue to live at home as was her wish. She was particularly anxious not to be placed in a care home, and this was said so repeatedly that this was a genuine concern. But as her health deteriorated, the burden of looking after her became even harder for you. Yet you continued to care for your wife without assistance,” the judge added.

He also praised the man's “good character” as he looked after his partner who was “unable to move, doubly incontinent and completely incapacitated,” adding, “She did not recognize you.”

In his concluding remarks, the judge said: “The act was a spur of the moment and your genuine belief this was an act of mercy. No two cases are the same. This is far from showing malice or ill will.”