Woman admits anti-freeze in drink murder plot of husband Published duration 11 September 2015

image copyright Metropolitan Police image caption Text messages showed discussions about poisoning Douglas Turner, police said

A woman has admitted trying to murder her husband by poisoning him with anti-freeze concealed in a Christmas drink of cherry Lambrini.

Jacqueline Patrick, 54, of Durning Road, Norwood, south-east London, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder on her husband Douglas, 70.

Their daughter Katherine, 21, admitted encouraging an indictable offence.

Family arguments were believed to have motivated the pair, police said.

image copyright Metropolitan Police image caption Douglas Patrick told police he had felt far drunker than he should

Inner London Crown Court heard two attempts were made to murder Mr Patrick - once in October 2013 and once on Christmas Day 2013.

On Boxing Day of 2013, he was taken to King's College Hospital having collapsed at the family home.

His wife gave paramedics a note purporting to be from her husband, which was actually faked, stating that he did not wish to be resuscitated, police said.

Bootleg lager

He was placed in a coma and found to have antifreeze poisoning.

When he regained consciousness on 8 January 2014, he told police he remembered having two drinks of the cherry-flavoured fruit wine on Christmas Day, and feeling far drunker than he should have before going to bed.

He also told officers he had suffered a similar collapse in October 2013, which he and his wife had put down to drinking bootleg lager.

Mobile phones belonging to Jacqueline and Katherine Patrick showed numerous text messages between the pair, discussing three separate attempts to poison Mr Parker between 26 October and 26 December 2013, police said.

Det Insp Tracey Miller from Lambeth police said Patrick Snr was "motivated, it is thought, by family tension and arguments between herself and her husband and the victim and their daughters".

She added: "Mr Patrick came very close to dying and while he lay in his hospital bed fighting for his life, his wife told lie after lie to cover her tracks."