The founder of the Browns Brasserie chain and his sister were warned by their mother’s GP not to give her any more morphine, just hours before they allegedly killed her with the painkiller, a court heard.
Pamela Mogford, whose photograph has been released for the first time, died after her children Jeremy Mogford, 79, and Sarah Pickering, 72, gave her an oral morphine solution known as Oramorph.
Oxford Crown Court heard that the siblings allegedly administered at least four times the amount of morphine their GP had given their mother the previous evening in an attempt to “speed up” her death.
Dr Thomas Neale told jurors that he had visited Mrs Mogford at her home three times on the day before she died. During his second and third visits, he gave her morphine injections.
On his second visit, Mrs Mogford was complaining of back pain. Dr Neale said he gave her a 2.5mg morphine injection alongside haloperidol, an anti-sickness drug intended to ease the medication’s side-effects.
He returned later that day and administered another 2.5mg dose of morphine because he wanted to keep her comfortable through the evening.
Dr Neale said he left three additional morphine ampoules at Mrs Mogford’s home in case they were needed by a medical professional called to the property.
He told the court that he regarded Mrs Mogford as “opiate naive”, meaning she had not previously received significant amounts of morphine.
Jeremy Mogford, 79, founder of Browns Brasserie, is accused of murdering his 100-year-old mother with morphine alongside his sister Sarah Pickering, 72
Pamela Mogford, pictured with her husband Peter, died aged 100 at her home in Bledlow Ridge, Buckinghamshire, in February 2022
“I was going to give her one of the smallest doses that may have made a difference,” he said.
“If you are not opiate naive and you are already taking opioid medication, you may need a slightly larger dose.
“But if she was not taking anything at the time, you start with the smallest dose.”
The court heard that Mrs Mogford had also been prescribed Oramorph, which she could take orally up to four times a day.
Dr Neale said he spoke to both defendants again during his third visit, as he had done earlier that day.
“On this second occasion, I explained that the haloperidol appeared to have worked and she was no longer being sick,” he said.
“But the morphine injection I had given her had not been sufficient, so I was going to give her another small dose in the hope that she would become comfortable.
“I explained that I was leaving the ampoules, meaning there would be three morphine ampoules and four haloperidol ampoules in the house in case another doctor was called out during the night.
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Mogford and Pickering, pictured, are accused of giving their mother at least four times the amount of morphine administered by her GP in an alleged attempt to hasten her death
The GP described Mrs Mogford as “opiate naive”, meaning she had little previous exposure to morphine, and said he deliberately began with a small dose
Pamela died at her £1.8million cottage in Bledlow Ridge, Buckinghamshire, where her children are accused of giving her an excessive dose of morphine to hasten her death
“Then they would have those ampoules available if they decided they wanted to give her” morphine.
Dr Neale went on to tell the jury what else he had said to the defendants that evening.
“I did not want them to give her any other medication for pain,” he said.
“I explained that this was because she had experienced side-effects with other painkillers in the past, while paracetamol had not been particularly helpful.
“The obvious concern with medication such as this is that it can depress breathing. You want to ensure the patient is comfortable.
“But it is best for a doctor to assess what the appropriate dose should be and when it should be given.”
Asked about the risk of breathing being depressed, Dr Neale replied: “It may depress breathing sufficiently for the patient to die.”
The following morning, Mr Mogford telephoned the surgery to report that his mother had died shortly after midnight, the court heard.
Dr Neale then went to the house and certified the death, recording the cause as “old age”. He also collected the medication ampoules he had left there the previous day.
Mr Mogford, who founded the Browns Brasserie chain, and Ms Pickering are accused of murdering their mother at her home in Bledlow Ridge, Buckinghamshire.
They also face an alternative charge of attempting to murder Mrs Mogford, who died shortly after midnight on February 15, 2022.
The siblings were arrested after messages sent by Ms Pickering on the evening of her mother’s death were discovered. They included: “I am actually killing her” and “I shall wait until Foyle is over then I can go to my grave knowing I have topped someone. It’s certainly on my bucket list.”
The defendants accept that they gave their mother Oramorph after the GP had left, but deny intending to hasten her death. They maintain they administered it because she was in pain, the trial has previously heard.
The trial before Mr Justice Jay is continuing.
