Hospital order for 'stressed' daughter who killed mum

Shirley D'Silva said she heard a voice in her head telling her to kill her mother

A "stressed" carer who killed her sick mother has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital indefinitely.

Shirley D'Silva, 55, admitted giving Martha Pereira an overdose of insulin and smothering her with a pillow, at the Old Bailey on Monday.

A medical report found D'Silva was "actively psychotic" when she attacked her 77-year-old mother at their south London home on 25 October.

The trained nurse then called 999 saying: "I murdered my mother."

D'Silva told police she heard a voice in her head telling her to kill Ms Pereira, who suffered from dementia, lung cancer and diabetes.

Asked why she did it, the mother of two said: "It's the world we live ... The war around the world."

Shirley D'Silva attacked her mother in their family home on Morland Road, Croydon

Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC told the Old Bailey that D'Silva had a history of mental illness and was sectioned in 1996 after she tried to commit suicide.

The court heard her mental state had deteriorated as a result of the stress of caring for her mother.

On Monday, D'Silva pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, which was accepted by the prosecution.

Her husband, Joe D'Silva, who attended court with other family members, described her as "devoted to her mother".

The family, who supported the defendant, found it "very difficult to comprehend this has happened", said Judith Khan QC, mitigating.

Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC handed D'Silva a hospital order with a restriction order without limit of time and returned her to River House at Bethlem Royal Hospital in south London.