Dr Edward Erin guilty of poisoning to cause a miscarriage

October 19, 2009 by Baby Chums  
Filed under: News

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Married Dr Edward Erin, 44, has been found guilty of procuring, administering and attempting to administer poison to cause the miscarriage of his pregnant mistress Bella Prowse. Ms Prowse, 33, however succesfully birthed a baby boy.

An Old Bailey jury found Erin was guilty of two charges of attempting to spike Bella Prowse’s Starbucks coffee and orange juice, but not guilty of spiking her Earl Grey tea, and could not reach a verdict on a charge of procuring drugs to induce an abortion.

A forensic expert said traces of a drug obtained by Dr Erin were found in her body a week after the tea incident, but added it was “improbable” that whatever she swallowed then would still have been present.

He was tried under an obscure section of the 1961 Offences Against the Person Act. The statute was previously used to prosecute those carrying out abortions before they were made legal in 1967.

Suspended by the General Medical Council, Erin now faces being permanently struck off.

During the trial, the doctor was revealed as a serial philanderer who kept his wife and two young children a secret and enjoyed a string of affairs with at least three of his medical colleagues.

Working at St Mary’s at Paddington for seven months, Miss Prowse had worked as a medical secretary before she and Dr Erin began their affair following their Christmas party in 2007.

In just a few short weeks, the single mother from Brixton, had welcomed him into her home, introduced him to her mother and teen daughter, and fallen in love with him.

But Erin, who also worked as a researcher at the nearby Royal Brompton Hospital, was still hankering after his previous lover, Dr Malin Roesner, a specialist registrar at Northwick Park Hospital in north-west London who was 13 years his junior. While dating Miss Prowse, he bought the 30-year-old Swede intimate gifts and suggested they go away for a weekend together.

He was “shocked” when blonde Miss Prowse said she was pregnant just a month into the relationship - despite the fact the pair had never used contraceptives.

He began to bombard her with text messages begging her to have an abortion, saying she would “destroy” his career and their burgeoning relationship if she did not agree.

Erin also promised her a gittering future together and children at a later stage if she would agree to a termination, but she cancelled two appointments.

But Miss Prowse, still traumatised from a previous abortion six years earlier, stood her ground and told her lover she was keeping the child.

The next day, he made her a cup of tea and repeatedly prompted her to drink it. She spotted a yellow powder in the bottom and pointed it out to Erin. He blamed limescale and took the cup away before washing it.

In the days that followed, Erin bought her a Starbucks coffee then an orange juice. She avoided drinking both and took samples to the police, who identified a series of drugs known to cause miscarriages in pregnant women.

Erin was remanded in custody until November 16 for sentencing. He showed no emotion as he was led to the cells.

Detective Chief Inspector Mickey Gallagher said: “Edward Erin is a consultant physician, pharmacologist and honorary senior lecturer.

“He has been a medical professional for over 20 years, yet having failed to persuade his girlfriend, Bella Prowse, to have an abortion, he has abused his profession and position of trust, used his medical knowledge to try and bring on a miscarriage.

“This was not a morality trial, but the nature of this case is unusual in that it is only the second of its type to be brought before the courts in the last 40 years.

“Erin has been judged on evidence and the jury have applied good sense and fairness. I would like to state that this prosecution has been brought on behalf of Bella Prowse and my thoughts are with her at this time.

“Thankfully, Erin failed in his attempts and Bella has a healthy child.”

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