Peterborough murder attempt to send mum 'to better place'

Mark Calvert Elliott tried to suffocate his bedridden mother with his hands, police said

A man who tried to murder his sick mother to send her "to a better place" has been jailed for eight years.

Mark Calvert Elliott, 53, told police he tried to "euthanise" his 82-year-old bedridden mother by suffocating her at their Peterborough home.

He stopped when his sister came into the room.

Calvert Elliott denied attempted murder but was found guilty by a jury in March. At the Old Bailey earlier he was jailed for eight years.

Calvert Elliott's mother had suffered a serious stroke several years ago and was immobile, Cambridgeshire Police said.

On the night of 9 October, police said Calvert Elliott, of Orton Goldhay, phoned 999 to say he had just tried euthanise his mother by suffocating her with his hands.

He told officers he wanted to send her "to a better place".

Det Sgt Rob Sansom said the victim's daughter and son-in-law entered the room, stopping Calvert Elliott, and the elderly woman did not suffer any long-lasting injuries.

Calvert Elliott was arrested and later charged with attempted murder, however he denied he was going to fully go through with the act.

A jury found him unanimously guilty of attempted murder after a trial at Peterborough Crown Court on 28 March.

"This was a truly sad case, however Calvert Elliott's actions could have resulted in his mother losing her life, and that decision was not his to make," Det Sgt Sansom added.

At the Old Bailey in London earlier he was jailed for eight years and made the subject of a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his mother or visiting her address until further notice.