'Mercy Killing' Churchgoer Jailed For Murder

Cancer patient David Paterson, 81, was close to a natural death when he was suffocated by Heather Davidson, 54, in a care home bedroom. About two hours before, she had called Macmillan Cancer Support to ask if smothering her friend would make her a murderer. She claimed it was a mercy killing, but she acted "unilaterally" without thinking about what he wanted, Teesside Crown Court heard.