A woman has been jailed for attempting to murder her husband by spiking his cherry Lambrini drink with anti-freeze on Christmas Day.



Jacqueline Patrick, 55, was encouraged by her daughter, Katherine, 21, to poison Douglas Patrick, who was left fighting for his life after collapsing at the family home in Gipsy Hill, south London.



His wife gave ambulance staff a fake “do not resuscitate” note after he was rushed to hospital on Boxing Day 2013, the court heard.



He had already survived an earlier attempt by her to kill him the previous October.

Jacqueline Patrick pleaded guilty last month to two counts of attempted murder and Katherine admitted a charge of inciting another to administer a noxious substance.



Katherine Patrick was jailed for three years. Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA

The mother was given a sentence of 15 years for each charge, to be served concurrently, and her daughter received a three-year jail sentence.



Sam Brown, prosecuting, told Inner London crown court: “There was a concerted plan and persistent attempt by Jacqueline Patrick to murder Douglas. It was carried out in autumn and winter with the effect to be achieved over a period of time.

“It was hoped that the lethal dose and effects could be disguised as an adverse reaction to medication during that period or as a consequence of an attempt to take his own life. Douglas Patrick had no intention of harming himself and never did.

“Katherine Patrick knew and was aware that her mother was intending to administer to her father poison and encouraged her knowing she she would be endangering his life. Who can say what the reason was?”

The couple had been married for almost 30 years and had two children: Katherine, known as Katie, and an older daughter.



The court heard there had been domestic problems within the family concerning the younger daughter’s boyfriend, but allegations about her father being abusive or violent had been dropped.

Katherine Patrick had been “physically chastised” by her father as a child and had become “overly reliant” on her mother, her defence lawyer said. Julia Flanagan described her client as a “sensitive and timid girl” and said a psychological report found her to be “not as mature as others of her age”.

Her mother poured anti-freeze into the a bottle of cherry perry and poured her husband about two-and-a-half glasses of it as she served him supper after a family argument on Christmas Day, the court was told.



When he became ill the next morning she phoned the ambulance and told them that he had previously had kidney failure and that a couple of drinks the previous day had caused the condition to “flare up again”.



She then faked a note from her husband that said he did not wish to be revived and wanted to die in dignity with his family by his side. He spent several days in an induced coma before having to learn to walk and talk again during a year of rehabilitation.

In a statement read to the court, Douglas Patrick said: “I will never get over it. It broke me. I’m just a shell now. This was a person I was married to for over 25 years. A person I loved and love.”

The court heard that he had not wanted to pursue a case against his wife and daughter and did not want to see them put in prison, or have the incident “hang over their heads”.



Judge Nic Madge told Jacqueline Patrick: “There were clearly premeditated and planned attempts to kill your husband. With a cold and calculated determination, you bought the anti-freeze, you administered that poison twice.”

The judge added that Katherine Patrick “did more” than simply not stop her mother.



