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Billingham Mother Found to Have Poisoned Son with Methadone and Morphine

A fact-finding jury recorded that Louise Cameron gave her eight-year-old son drug-laced juice, with sentencing set for September 18.

Overview

  • A jury at Teesside Crown Court concluded on Friday that Louise Cameron gave her eight-year-old son morphine and methadone-laced blackcurrant juice.
  • Prosecutors say Rhys died during the weekend of September 13–15 and family members discovered him dead at the Billingham home on September 15.
  • Forensic evidence presented at the hearing showed methadone in the remaining drink bottle and both methadone and morphine in Rhys’s blood.
  • Cameron was found unfit to plead, so jurors conducted a fact-finding hearing instead of a standard criminal trial and she watched proceedings by video link from hospital.
  • Court reporting says Cameron left a note expressing suicidal intent and told hospital staff she had killed Rhys; sentencing on September 18 could result in a hospital order or detention.