A loving Melbourne mother who was ‘at the end of her tether’ when she tried to kill herself and her disabled adult son is almost certain to be spared jail.
Yvette Nichol, 63, had been the primary carer for her autistic and epileptic son Brett, 34, for all his life until she tried to kill him and herself at their Eltham North home in May.
‘I’m not going to send you to jail,’ Supreme Court Justice Paul Coghlan told a pre-sentence hearing on Monday.
‘As a community, we ultimately ought to be judged not on our ability to punish, but on our ability to show compassion. In the whole sentencing debate, it seems somewhere along the way we have lost sight of that.’
Yvette Nichol (pictured left), 63, had been the primary carer for her autistic and epileptic son Brett, 34, for all his life until she tried to kill him and herself at their Eltham North home in May
Justice Paul Coghlan (pictured) told a pre-sentence hearing he would not jail the woman because he wanted to extend her ‘compassion’
Brett suffers harrowing night terrors, and these had been getting more frequent and severe in the years leading up to the incident.
One day, after writing apologetic letters to her loved ones, she attempted to take her life and that of her son.
But she woke and so did he, and feeling regretful, called an ambulance. Nichol later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and is awaiting sentencing.
At the time of the incident, Nichol was badly sleep-deprived and depressed, her lawyer Tim Marsh said.
Brett was suffering terrors every night, some lasting up to an hour, and she would calmly nurse him.
‘I would challenge anyone to say anything other than she was a woman who did all that she could to care for her son,’ Mr Marsh said.
‘Quite clearly she got to the end of her tether and this disastrous episode followed.
‘She acted in love, not in anger, hatred or desire to gain.’
Nichol’s husband had left her about a year earlier and she reached out for help from authorities but wasn’t getting enough, the court was told
Nichol’s husband had left her about a year earlier and she reached out for help from authorities but wasn’t getting enough, the court was told.
Mr Marsh said a community corrections order would be appropriate for his client.
Nichol is due to return to the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon when she may be sentenced.
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
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