Euthanasia trial: lesser guilty plea

Dr Sean Davison arriving at Christchurch airport ahead of his trial. Photo / Martin Hunter

The trial of scientist Sean Davison, accused of attempting to murder his mother, ended at the High Court in Dunedin today when he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

Davison (50) was on trial on a charge of attempting to murder his terminally ill mother Patricia Elizabeth Davison, 85, a former medical practitioner.

He today pleaded guilty to an alternative lesser charge of inciting and procuring his mother's suicide.

Today would have been the fourth day of Davison's trial in the High Court at Dunedin for the attempted murder of Patricia Davison.

He gave her crushed morphine tablets on October 24, 2006.

When the jury returned to court this morning, Crown counsel Robin Bates said he wished to file an amended indictment containing an alternative to the charge.

The charge alleging that on October 24 2006 Davison incited and procured Patricia Davison to commit suicide ``in consequence whereof that person attempted to commit suicide'' was put to Davison and, in an almost inaudible voice, he pleaded guilty.

Justice French convicted him and remanded him on bail for sentence on November 24, directing the pre-sentence report consider the possibility of an electronically-monitored sentence.

The charge of attempted murder will not officially be removed until Davison is sentenced on the lesser charge, but his counsel, Roger Laybourn said the fact Davison would be discharged on the attempted murder was equivalent to an acquittal.