Wendolyn Markcrow pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her 36-year-old son Patrick at her home in March.

Police said Patrick died of plastic bag suffocation while intoxicated on zopiclone, a sleeping pill.

At a 15-year-minute hearing at Reading Crown Court, Markcrow — watched by family members including her sons Martin and Jonathan — denied murder and admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Nicholas Browne, QC, prosecuting, told the judge that in view of the “overwhelming” psychiatric evidence, the Crown accepted the manslaughter plea and asked the judge to direct that the murder charge remain on file.

Markcrow, of Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, is expected to be sentenced by a High Court judge at Oxford Crown Court next month. She was released on bail.

Thames Valley Police were called to her home on March 29 where they found the body of Patrick, who also suffered from autism and behavioural difficulties.

Markcrow’s husband Paul, 70, a district councillor and Buckinghamshire county architect for 15 years, died less than a month later, on April 15, of natural causes.

Patrick and his father are believed to have been cremated together in Oxford.

Neighbours in the pretty village where the family live said that they did not blame Markcrow for what happened and would welcome her back into the community.

They described Patrick as a “constant pressure”. He was a heavy-built man who would often wake his mother in the night by shouting. He was occasionally aggressive.

Betty Payne, 75, said Markcrow was a “devoted mother” and a “lovely, bubbly, friendly woman” who appeared to have full responsibility for her son.

She said: “She never once complained but I know she would have liked for Patrick to go to someone a few afternoons a week so she could rest. I think he could be quite aggressive and he was a big man. But she knew how to handle him.

“If you think of all of those years, looking after him during the day then being woken up at night — none of us could have coped with that.”

She added: “She has my full support. Everybody in the village knows that she was a fantastic mother. She is no danger to anyone and does not deserve to be sent to prison.”

Jeff Steadman, pastor of Long Crendon Baptist Church, said that the mood in the village was one of “profound sadness and sympathy”.

“Patrick had special needs and that was an enormous pressure for her. She was very conscientious in her care for him,” he added.

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