Ex- councillor killed her sick husband
A former councillor killed her sick husband of 50 years because she thought he wanted her to help him die.
Susanne Wilson smothered 70- year- old Henry with a cushion at their home in Ayr last September.
The retired nurse had been a carer for her housebound husband, who suffered from chronic heart disease.
But a judge heard the 72 year- old had also been struggling to come to terms with sex abuse allegations against Mr Wilson.
It was shortly after Mr Wilson spoke to one of his accusers that his wife took his life at the house in Woodfield Road.
The events emerged on Tuesday as the OAP appeared at the High Court in Glasgow.
Wilson, who had once faced a murder charge, admitted culpable homicide.
Prosecutors accepted the plea on the basis of her diminished responsibility due to the strain she was under.
Judge Lady Rae described the case as “difficult and very unusual”.
Wilson will be sentenced next month. She is on bail.
The gran was a Labour councillor in Troon in the late 90s.
She had been married for 50 years and the couple had three children together but their eldest son Jonathan died in 2001 after battling cancer.
Mr Wilson was said to have been badly affected by the death.
The retired Butlins shop manager was in poor health and relied on his wife for help.
In September 2015 Wilson became aware of allegations that her husband had abused children.
Prosecutor Bill McVicar said: “Mrs Wilson accepted the accusations were true but continued to live in the same house to provide constant care.”
The court heard other people who had once helped to look after Mr Wilson stopped visiting due to the claims. This resulted in Wilson feeling isolated.
On September 3 Mr Wilson suddenly asked his wife to contact one of the people who had accused him.
He spoke to the individual on the phone and this caused anxiety to his wife. After the call she was described as very angry and smacked her husband with a plastic jug, leaving him bleeding.
Mr Wilson then spoke about ending his life with drugs.
The court heard his wife left out medication she had previously been prescribed and went to a neighbour’s home.
Mr McVicar said: “She does seem to have hoped that he would end his life while she was away.”
Wilson was in tears at the neighbour’s and revealed the allegations against her husband.
She returned home about an hour later and noticed her husband had taken some of the medication and was struggling to breathe.
She helped him to his bed , which was in the living room.
Mr McVicar went on: “She reports her husband said ‘ help me’ as his breathing worsened.
“She took that as a request that she should help him to die.
“She describes feeling only compassion for him and thinking that this had to stop.
“She then smothered him by placing a cushion over his face and holding it there with some degree of force, restricting his breathing until he died.”
The prosecutor said Wilson dialled 999 to report what she had done. Police soon arrived but Mr Wilson was already dead.
Wilson spoke of smothering her husband. She went on to make a full admission.
Mr McVicar said the smothering had been intended to end her husband’s life and “would ordinarily be regarded as murder”.
But he said psychiatric evidence led to the reduced charge of culpable homicide being accepted.
She was said to have been isolated as people found it difficult that she was continuing to support her husband despite the allegations of sexual abuse.
One doctor said Wilson had been unable to accept that she was depressed for a long time.
Gordon Jackson QC, defending, said the couple’s daughter Madeline had expressed backing for Wilson.
Lady Rae called for reports before sentencing next month.