Claire Button, 36, smothered her five-year-old son Lincoln Button and left a note that said “he does not fit in the world and where he doesn’t fit I don’t either”, a trial at Basildon Crown Court heard.
Button, of Windstar Drive in South Ockendon, Essex, who had struggled with her mental health and tried to seek help, had admitted the lesser charge of manslaughter.
She was found guilty of murder by a jury in a trial that was described by the judge as “one of the hardest I’ve heard in almost 30 years”.
Judge Samantha Leigh, sentencing at the same court today (October 17), jailed Button for life with a minimum term of nine years, which she must serve before she can be considered for release.
Button wiped tears from her eyes during the hearing and the judge said that at trial Button was described as a “loving, caring mother to her son”.
She said that Lincoln “was, as a result of his autism, very challenging indeed”, was non-verbal and had outbursts and meltdowns.
She said he would “sometimes want to go out 10 to 15 times per day” to ride his scooter, and on the day of the incident had a meltdown at a supermarket where he was “obsessed” with the sliding doors.
The judge said when Button returned to the family’s flat with Lincoln she decided to end her own life and his.
“She was desperate and couldn’t see a way out of what was going on,” she said.
She said Button “had on a number of occasions sought help” as she struggled with her mental health in the months before and on the day had “called an ambulance but was told there was a 10-hour wait”.
“If it hadn’t been for her husband returning home when he did there’s no doubt she would have died as well,” she said.
She said there was “no premeditation” to the killing and Button had “struggled in coping with Lincoln”.
“The stress she was under at the time in relation to this offence, that was exacerbated by the non-availability of emergency services,” said the judge.
She said Button had written to her and said “there’s not a day goes by that she doesn’t think or long for her son and wishes there was a way to turn the clock back”.
“I think it’s terribly telling… that she has received more care since being remanded for her mental health than she did on the outside,” the judge said.
She said that Button “first attended hospital last August seeking help” but was “given medication and sent away”.
She described a “mere two phone calls she was given” as “totally inadequate”.
The judge described Button’s husband, Nicky Button, as a “broken man” who “has lost his son, he’s lost his wife who he stands by and still loves”.
Prosecutor Andrew Jackson said Mr Button asked for his victim impact statement not to be read in court.
“Perhaps the most powerful mitigating factor is the mental disorder which she was suffering at the time of her offending and the stress she was under at the time, although this fell short of the partial defence of diminished responsibility,” he said.
Mark Cotter KC, mitigating, said Button was of previous good character.
“It’s clear that she went above and beyond in trying to get assessments to get help,” he said.
Mr Cotter continued: “She was plainly under considerable if not enormous stress at the time of the incident.”
He said that at the time Button had the “belief, albeit an irrational one, that she was acting out of mercy”.
The judge said: “There is in my judgment no further risk.”
