A Brisbane woman will spend at least 10 months behind bars for attempting to smother her father in an aged care home in 2020.
47-year-old Rebecca Louise Burden pleaded guilty at the Brisbane Supreme Court (pictured) to the attempted murder of 68-year-old Steven Burden, who had developed dementia following a brain injury in a 2017 car crash.
When Mr Burden asked his daughter to kill him, she held a pillow over his face for 25 to 30 seconds until he began to kick and jerk before removing it and confessing her actions to staff.
Without this admission, Judge Soraya Ryan said at the sentencing, the incident would likely have never come to light; Mr Burden himself reportedly did not remember it afterwards.
“When he expressed his despair in wishing to end his life, a family member exercising good judgment would have responded with understanding and kindness.
“Instead, you exercised very poor judgment and impulsively or reactively tried to kill him,” said Judge Ryan.
Ms Burden was sentenced to five years in prison and will be eligible for parole in May of 2023.
