Man 'bought cider while mum lay on bathroom floor'
BBCThis story contains details some people may find distressing
A son accused of leaving his elderly mother to die made nine visits to a shop to buy bottles of cider while she lay face down on a bathroom floor, a jury has heard.
Stewart Irwin, 56 and from Carlisle, is on trial at the city's crown court and denies the gross negligence manslaughter of 74-year-old Veronica Irwin in July 2023.
The prosecution alleges he failed to help her after she fell to the floor at their Rydal Street flat.
The jury has heard Irwin told a 999 call handler on 28 July that his mother had been there for "two weeks" and "refused to get help". She was taken to hospital where she died several hours later.
A Home Office pathologist, Dr Alison Armour, conducted a post mortem examination and concluded the immediate cause of death was a combination of hypothermia and neglected pressure ulcers, the court heard.
This was consistent with her lying on a hard surface for a prolonged period of time, in contact with irritant materials present in human waste.
While Armour estimated the 74-year-old had been laid face down for "around two weeks", she could not exclude the possibility that it had been longer.
Testing showed Veronica Irwin's blood, in the final hours of her death, did not contain alcohol.
Asked whether misuse of alcohol had played any part in her death, the pathologist told the court: "Not in my view."
During the fortnight in which she was believed to have been on the floor - between 15 and 27 July - her son visited the nearby One Stop convenience store, on Fusehill Street, almost daily, the court heard.
On nine different occasions, jurors were told, he bought bottles of Frosty Jack cider.
The last time he visited the shop was mid-afternoon on 27 July, the day before he called 999.
When interviewed later by a consultant clinical psychologist, Irwin said he had "tried to help" his mother, but that she had "repeatedly refused" assistance.
When admitted to hospital Veronica Irwin - who was 4ft 10in (1.5m) tall and weighing 45kg (7st) - had a body temperature of 31.8C (89F).
A normal temperature is about 37C (99F).
The prosecution is due to close its case on Monday, and the trial continues.
