July 2021

Killer mum released from mental health services

A mum who strapped her five-year-old son in a car and then set it ablaze has been RELEASED from the care of mental health services.

Teresa Sheldon of Dartford, Kent was detained under a hospital order in July 2015 after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility for the death of son Tommy.

He was injured in the blaze in his mother’s silver Ford Fiesta in Merdon Castle Lane, Hursley, Hampshire, in August 2014 and died a fortnight later in hospital.

Sheldon, (then aged 38), set the car on fire with a cigarette lighter after sprinkling the inside with a can of petrol

Sheldon from Dartford, Kent, also pleaded not guilty at Winchester Crown Court to the attempted murder of another person, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. The second person managed to escape.