Terry Rodgers failed to appear at Nottingham crown court for a hearing over the murder of Chanel Taylor, who was shot at her home in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. The 56-year-old, a former security firm boss, has not eaten anything since Christmas Eve. He wishes to die without interference in Lincoln prison, his lawyer said today.
"The prison has very real concerns for his health, and indeed his life," Stephen Ferguson told the court. "The prison doctor has invited him to sign an advance directive to indicate that, as his condition worsens, he does not want assistance. In essence, he wishes to die, and to die as quietly as possible without interference."
Chanel Taylor, a 23-year-old hairdresser, was found by her husband Lee with gunshot wounds to the back and head at their terraced house in Huthwaite last July. Mr Rodgers, who was living with his daughter at the time of her death, was arrested weeks after the shooting in woodland outside Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.
A gun was discovered in the house days after the shooting, which happened on July 30, seven weeks after the couple's wedding in Mansfield, also in Nottinghamshire.
Mr Ferguson said he was due to visit Mr Rodgers, accompanied by a psychiatrist, in prison this afternoon. The lawyer said: "His condition is now such that we take the view that he cannot be pressed in relation to matters further.
"It may well be the case where medical matters trump legal matters, at least in the short term if not forever. He is currently preoccupied with his burial arrangements and tying up his affairs."
Mr Justice Pitchers asked whether the defendant would be left to die if he was deemed to have the capacity to decline medical intervention. "Long gone are the days when that was deemed aiding and abetting suicide," Mr Ferguson replied. "I anticipate that various doctors will be considering these matters in the next few days."
The judge later adjourned the case for a further hearing on February 4, but accepted that Mr Rodgers may be unfit or unwilling to attend.
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