Barking carer on trial for killing dad spent 24 hours a day with him

A transgender carer who suffocated her father in an alleged suicide pact spent 24 hours a day with him in the same room in the months before he died.

Claire Darbyshire, 36, admits killing Brian, 67, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, at their home in Wykeham Green, Dagenham, on September 2 last year but denies murder.

The father and daughter were described as hoarders at the Old Bailey yesterday afternoon, when the jury heard that they were confined to two downstairs rooms of the house, with police officers later left struggling to enter some rooms due to the amount of items inside.

With her father bedbound and Ms Darybshire afraid to leave the house due to her agrophobia and the bullying she claims to have been a victim of at school and throughout her life, very often the only outside contact the pair received was a visit by the district nurse.

Reading out evidence previously given by the defendant during the summing up of the case, the Recorder of London Nicholas Hilliard QC said: “By 2015 I would not leave the house for days at a time.

“I slept on the settee in Dad’s room so I could help him at any time.

“We would be in that room 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

After Mr Darbyshire told his daughter he was fed up of the situation, the pair allegedly decided to end their lives together.

The trial continues, with the jury expected to retire today.