The founder of Browns Brasseries and his sister are on trial accused of murdering their 100-year-old mother, Pamela Mogford, at her cottage in Bledlow Ridge, Buckinghamshire. Oxford restaurateur Jeremy Mogford, 79, and his sister Sarah Pickering, 72, also face an alternative charge of attempted murder. Mrs. Mogford died in the early hours of February 15, 2022.

Oxford Crown Court heard that Pickering sent a message on the evening of her mother's death stating, "I am actually killing her" and "I shall wait until Foyle is over then I can go to my grave knowing I have topped someone. It's certainly on my bucket list." Mogford later sent a message to Pickering on the day of Queen Elizabeth II's death, writing, "Do you think they will morphine Queenie up like we did?"

The prosecution contends that after the GP's final visit on February 14, 2022, the siblings administered more morphine from a prescribed bottle of Oramorph, a liquid form of morphine. Using an oral syringe, they allegedly gave their mother at least four times the amount of morphine administered by the GP via injection that evening, with the intention of speeding up her death. The siblings admit to giving their mother Oramorph but deny intending to hasten her death, claiming it was to alleviate her pain.

Mrs. Mogford's GP had visited her three times on February 14, administering morphine on the second and third visits, believing she might be dying. He certified her death the following day as due to "old age." At the time, there appeared to be nothing suspicious about Mrs. Mogford's death. She was 100 years old, bedbound but retained her mental faculties, and was cared for by a live-in carer.

An ambulance was called on February 14 due to concerns she might have had a stroke, but Mrs. Mogford refused to go to the hospital. When warned that not going to the hospital could result in death, she replied, "Good." Pickering told paramedics her mother had "wanted to die for some time so that she could be with her husband," though prosecutors stated there was no suggestion Mrs. Mogford was suicidal.

Pickering also reportedly told carers, her gardener, and her brother on the evening of February 14, "for f***'s sake mother, hurry up and die." Text messages presented in court indicated Pickering's intent, including one to a friend stating, "Think we might give her some morphine tonight, but don't tell anyone." Another message to a friend read, "Two injections from the Doc but not enough, just between me and you and the gatepost Jeremy and I have given two more and still not worked."

Shortly before 10 p.m., Pickering messaged her brother asking, "Can I give some more? It's awful listening to this," to which Mogford replied, "Yes, go ahead." Pickering then responded, "Ok will wait a little while, she is fast asleep." Prosecutors alleged this indicated Mrs. Mogford was not in pain at that point. In a subsequent text to her husband, Pickering wrote, "I am actually killing her."

Following these events, permission was obtained to exhume Mrs. Mogford's coffin for a post-mortem examination in June 2023. The examination confirmed the presence of morphine, but due to the time elapsed, it was impossible to calculate the exact amount administered or definitively determine if it exceeded the GP's injections. A pathologist listed the cause of death as "unascertained." Jurors were told that Mrs. Mogford had also been prescribed temazepam for sleep, and both drugs can suppress breathing.

Mogford, who opened the first Browns Brasserie in 1973, sold the chain for £35 million in 1996. He has denied the murder charge, stating that his mother "was nearly 101 years old and died, as her doctor stated, of old age."

The trial continues.