Daughter cleared of murdering chronically-ill mum 'ordered pills to end her life so she could die with dignity'

Daughter cleared of murdering chronically-ill mum 'ordered pills to end her life so she could die with dignity' Emma Nightingale, 36, was charged with the murder of her "vulnerable" mother, Lorna Nightingale, 70, but in April the prosecution said it was offering no evidence and Judge Philip Katz recorded a not guilty verdict A daughter cleared of murdering her chronically-ill mother says she only ordered the pills that ended her life “so she could go out with dignity”. Emma Nightingale, 36, criticised the decision to prosecute her for murder after her mother, Lorna, 70, died from a drug overdose. The pensioner was suffering from chronic kidney disease, severe dental problems and cataracts in both eyes. Emma said her mother “begged” her to get the tablets to end her life because she could no longer bear the pain. But Emma was held for five months in Category A HMP Bronzefield - which has housed the likes of serial killers Joanne Dennehy and Rose West - after police charged her with murder. In April, she pleaded not guilty to murder during an appearance at the Old Bailey, a month before her trial was due to start. But she walked free the same day after prosecutors dropped the case, saying there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”. During the hearing Emma shouted: "We don't let animals suffer. My mum committed suicide." Emma says the Crown Prosecution Service are yet to decide if she will face a charge of encouraging or assisting suicide. Today she gave an extraordinary account of her mother's death and her role in it while also demanding that assisted suicide was made legal in the UK. A bill to allow assisted dying in England and Wales is currently at the centre of a long-running dispute by MPs. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow people expected to die within six months to seek medical help to end their life. Emma told the EDP: "It affects so many people, and unless you’re in a situation like that with someone you love more than anything else in the world, some people just don’t understand how heartbreaking it is. Mum took the tablets of her own free will as a mentally competent adult, with me in the room with her, as that was what she wanted – for me to be there. "It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. It was the humane thing to do. There was no way I was going to let the person closest to me in the world, my mum, who was my best friend, go through that sort of pain and suffering. I’d do anything for her. I’d sacrifice my life for her if I had to because that’s how much I loved her." Self-employed Emma said had left a 13-year relationship when she began acting as a full-time carer for her mother. However, as her health deteriorated, they found the property - which was damp and had stairs which Lorna could no longer climb - increasingly unsuitable. Last year, they decided to relocate to Walthamstow, east London, and moved into a ground-floor bedsit at the Trinity House hotel. Lorna who had always dreamed of experiencing London, wanted to ride in taxis, shop at Westfield and see shows at the city's theatres before becoming bed-bound. However, their move to the capital sparked a major police search last summer after a family member, who had been unaware they had left Lowestoft, reported them missing. The relative said they had last seen Lorna in Lowestoft in February and her daughter in Colchester in June. Several specialist units from Suffolk Police, along with partner agencies such as British Transport Police, launched a search and on August 24 last year made a public appeal for information. It was not until October that police eventually found the mother and daughter "safe and well" in their Walthamstow bedsit. By this stage, Lorna had become bed-bound, and the pair remained at the hotel. Emma said both she and her mother had known all along that she would die in the bedsit. She said: "From the moment we arrived, she loved the bedsit and told me she wanted to spend her remaining days there. "In the time we had left together, I ensured she was as comfortable and happy as she could possibly be. She gave me the honour of waiting on her 24/7, making her tea and all her favourite foods - soft mashed potatoes, Yorkshire puddings with gravy, crumpets and soft desserts. "She still had a good appetite, and I brought her fish and chips whenever she wanted from the takeaway just across the road. Whatever she wanted, I made sure she had. Just seeing her smiles and contentment while watching her favourite TV shows and enjoying her food was a joy to me." During their time at the bedsit, the pair discussed Lorna's desire to end her life before the pain became too great. Emma described herself as a committed Christian and regular churchgoer and said she had struggled with the ethics of assisted suicide. However, she said her mother had "begged" her to buy tablets that would allow her to end her life as she could not use the internet herself. Emma said: "We did a lot of online research into the most peaceful dying pills. "I got in contact with a doctor in Switzerland, as they sell the pills legally there. Mum never would have made the journey, and it was her wish to pass away at home in her own country." Emma declined to provide further details of where, when or how she obtained the pills, for fear that the doctor who supplied them could face scrutiny. In Switzerland, assisted dying is legal in some circumstances, and clinics can provide life-ending medication to foreign nationals if they travel there. Emma added: "She'd had enough and wanted to go with dignity. She begged me to get her tablets as she couldn't physically get them herself due to being bedbound at that point. "If I hadn't helped her by getting the tablets when I did, her pain would have become unbearable. As the months and weeks led up to the inevitable, there was a clock on the wall in the shape of a heart - I just wanted to stop time as it constantly reminded me that the precious time I had left with her was running out. "No matter how much you love someone, time always runs out. I just pray that we'll be reunited again after this life." Emma said her mother took the tablets on December 11, while she was in the room with her. She said: "She wanted for me to be there with her. Mum passed away from the comfort of her very comfortable bedsit where she was safe and secure and content. She was happy and smiling right up to the end, watching all her TV shows in bed surrounded by the flowers I constantly brought her. "She brought the joy to my life, and I miss her every moment, but her spirit is with me always. I have peace knowing that she now has eternal peace and that she's in no more pain or suffering." Later that day, after Lorna had died, her daughter called the ambulance service. Police were also sent to the scene, and she gave her account of what had happened and was arrested on suspicion of murder. Following interviews, she was charged with her mother's murder and held on remand. Officers seized her phone, which is still in police possession, containing almost all her photos of her mother. Since her release from prison, Emma has been living and working in the port town of Dover, as she waits to learn if she will be charged with encouraging or assisting suicide under the Suicide Act 1961. The offence carries a maximum sentence of 14 years and the CPS have not said when she will learn her fate. Its decision will weigh both the evidence and the circumstances of Lorna's death, in line with guidance that asks prosecutors to consider whether a prosecution is in the public interest. As senior officials mull their decision, the public debate over the issue of assisted suicide is moving back up the political agenda. Labour MP Lauren Edwards has been trying to revive stalled attempts by her colleague Kim Leadbeater to pass legislation that would allow terminally ill adults to seek medical help to end their life under strict safeguards. Supporters argue that the current ban causes unnecessary pain and forces people into distressing alternatives. Critics argue the proposals lack sufficient safeguards and threaten vulnerable people. Both the CPS and the Met Police have declined to comment.