Jury out in trial of mum accused of son's murder

Lincoln Button died at his home in South Ockendon, Essex, last December

A jury in the trial of a woman accused of murdering her autistic young son has retired to consider its verdict.

Claire Button, 35, has admitted killing five-year-old Lincoln at their home in South Ockendon, Essex, on 15 December last year, but denies murder.

Basildon Crown Court has heard evidence from Ms Button's husband, her mother and two psychiatrists as well as the defendant herself, who said a voice in her head told her to take her own life as well as her son's.

The prosecution has questioned whether her level of mental illness meets the criteria for manslaughter where someone's judgement and rationality were substantially impaired.

During the course of the trial, the jury was told about Ms Button's diagnosis of depression in August last year, and the struggles she faced over the following months.

Lincoln was described in court as a "high maintenance, [highly] demanding" child who had been diagnosed with autism, developmental delay and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), who Ms Button was struggling to cope with.

She was described by her mother and husband as a "fantastic" mother who was "devoted" to Lincoln and did "almost everything for him".

The court heard how Ms Button had suicidal thoughts after Lincoln had a "meltdown" after a trip to Lidl on the morning of 15 December.

The Button family lived in South Ockendon, near Grays, where Lincoln's body was found

When the pair got home, Ms Button told the court she heard a "commanding" voice for the first time, judge Samantha Leigh said during her summing up.

She told the court she had called emergency services and a call handler told her "it would take 10 hours" before anyone would turn up.

"I just thought the ambulance service didn't want to help if they were going to take that long and the voice told me I had to go through with it," she said.

Dr Frank Farnham, who assessed Ms Button in March this year, told the court he was sure Ms Button "would not have killed her son had she not been suffering from psychosis and depression".

The jury heard "she was living under severe stress" and that her actions were "were not premeditated but compulsive".

However, another psychiatrist, Dr Raman Deo, said he believed Ms Button's "mental state was impaired but not to the degree to meet substantial impairment" for the offence of manslaughter.

The trial continues.