Mother's court outburst

The mother of a terminally ill boy killed by her husband today yelled across the court room: "There's a difference between dying with dignity and murder."

The exchange came as Mary Wragg broke down in tears under cross-examination during her third day in the witness box at the murder trial.

She was being questioned about resuscitation documents she had signed in the three years before her husband, former SAS soldier Andrew Wragg, 37, suffocated 10-year-old Jacob with a pillow in an alleged mercy killing at the family home in Worthing in July last year.

The documents were drawn up in consultation with hospice doctors and nurses when Jacob, who suffered from rare genetic disease Hunter Syndrome, was particularly ill.

They stated that in a life-threatening emergency she opposed any attempt to resuscitate him or rush him to hospital to keep him alive artificially. But she was in favour of continued palliative care until he passed away.

Pressed by her husband's QC, Michael Sayers, Mrs Wragg, 41, said she was particularly opposed to resuscitation because Jacob was "extremely frightened by anything on his face". She went on to say she had not wanted anything to be done to Jacob if she were not present.

Bursting into tears and pointing to copies of the documents, she shouted: "I don't see anything in this plan where it states you can hold a pillow over his face until he stops breathing.

"There's a difference between dying with dignity and murder - I am sorry."

In further highly emo t ional exchanges, she shouted: "This case is about Jacob and his right to life - not about excuses for his death."

As Mr Sayers wound up his crossexamination he accused Mrs Wragg of "attempting to assassinate [her husband's] character". But before the QC could sit down, Mrs Wragg fired back: "I don't need to do that. He has murdered my child - I don't need to assassinate his character."

The court has heard that Wragg rang his wife to tell her to take their second son George away to her mother then killed Jacob when they were alone together in the house.

Wragg then dialled 999 and told police he had committed a mercy killing to save Jacob further suffering.

Earlier today Mrs Wragg was taken through statements she made in interviews with detectives after the killing.

She admitted that there had been days when Jacob had driven her "to distraction", when she "hated" him and wished "everything could end" but insisted these comments were nothing more than hypothetical situations.

Asked to confirm that she had told police that her husband had loved Jacob, she told the jury: "You would like to think so, don't you? I believed then at that time that he loved Jacob."

Wragg has pleaded not guilty at Lewes Crown Court to murder but has admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to a temporary abnormality of mind.