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Dr Edward Erin guilty of poisoning to cause a miscarriage

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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Doctor may have spiked his mistress’s drinks to procure miscarriage

Doctor Edward Erin, 44, spiked his mistress’s drinks in an effort to kill their unborn child a court was told.

First he drugged a cup of tea after staying the night at her home in Tulse Hill, south London, the court heard. Prowse spotted a white powdery residue in the cup. Erin claimed it was limescale.

“He said things like ‘Don’t forget to drink your tea’ and ‘Why don’t you drink your tea and I will do the washing up’,” Sean Larkin, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey. “As she drank the tea Miss Prowse noticed a powdery substance. Dr Erin said it was probably limescale. He took the cup and rinsed it out.”

The mistress became suspicious, so she kept cups and some of the contents and later took them to the police which revealed the presence of lethal drugs.

Texts between the Doctor and his secretary Bella Prowse showed how desperate he was that she should have an abortion, the court heard.

She fixed two appointments at a private clinic but failed to attend and refused to terminate the pregnancy.

After his arrest Dr Erin asked officers if he could phone Ms Prowse to ask her to drop the charges.

Dr Erin, 44, was a consultant respiratory physician in a job share with another doctor at the chest and allergy unit at St Mary’s hospital, Paddington and also a clinical research fellow of clinical studies at the Royal Brompton.

He was also a married man with two young children. He started an affair with Ms Prowse, 32, who was his secretary at St Mary’s, in December 2007.

The following month she found she was pregnant and Erin made it clear he wanted a termination but, after long discussion, she refused.

Said Sean Larkin, prosecuting: “He decided to procure her miscarriage. He obtained prescription drugs that had side effects of a miscarriage and on three separate days he put the drugs into her drinks.

“They were in quantities that showed he expected her to take the drinks and the drugs and then miscarry.”

In February last year Erin spent the night at Ms Prowse’s flat in Brixton and in the morning made her a cup of tea “which was unusual,” said Mr Larkin.

“He told her: ‘Don’t forget to drink your tea’ or ‘Why don’t you drink your tea and I will do the washing up.’

“But she noticed a powdery substance. Erin said it was probably limescale and washed the cup out.”

When she took the cup to the police later analysts found a weak trace of methotrexate - which is so harmful to unborn children women are advised not to become pregnant for two years after taking it.

Later that evening Erin’s wife saw him grinding pills in the kitchen and when she challenged him he claimed they were for an experiment at work.

A few days later Erin arranged to meet Ms Prowse at a Starbucks and had the coffees ready when she arrived.

She noticed the lids had been taken off and replaced. Erin repeatedly told her to drink the coffee but, when he was away, she poured the contents into a bottle.

Later analysis showed the presence of methotrexate and another harmful drug, diclofenac.

Erin later invited her into his office and asked if she wanted some orange juice he had in his fridge. The bottle was full but the seal had been broken, the court heard.

Ms Prowse poured the contents into a cup and noticed a powdery substance. When she took the cup to the police diclofenac was found.

Erin was arrested on St Valentine’s Day in his office at the Royal Brompton.

Erin, of Kensington, west London, denies procuring poison to be used with the intention of causing a miscarriage, administering poison to procure a miscarriage, and two charges of attempting to administer poison.

The trial continues.