A SON and teacher carried his mother out onto a care home balcony before pushing her over the railings to her death.

Robert Knight admits he killed his mother June but denies murdering her.

Basildon Crown Court heard how Robert Knight, 52, of The Fairway, Leigh, was visiting his 79-year-old mother at Langley Lodge Nursing Home, Imperial Avenue, Westcliff on December 10.

Andrew Jackson, prosecuting said: “In December, Mrs Knight became very unwell, as well as suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and a condition that made her muscles contract, she could not keep her food down.

“She could not talk, but could say the word ‘ouch’ when she was in pain to signal how she was feeling.

“The defendant had visited the home at 2.30pm and stayed there until 5.30pm.”

The court heard he then left to teach an adult languages class at Southend High School For Girls, before returning to the care home at approximately 9.45pm.

Mr Jackson said: “CCTV footage shows him entering the home and going straight up the stairs. Footage shows him stop, and look towards the direction of the office area.

“He entered his mother’s room on the first floor, picked her up and took her out through a fire escape door.

“The defendant later said when he was carrying her his mother was conscious and looking at him. She was probably terrified of what was about to happen.

“On the balcony outside the door, he placed his mother on the railing, and pushed her off, where she fell 13 feet.

“She suffered multiple injuries, but the one most severe was a skull fracture, which led to a catastrophic brain injury. She was alive when her head hit the ground.

“The defendant did not go to where his mother was lying, but back into the building. A member of staff saw him near the fire escape, where he shouted ‘call the police, I’ve just killed my mother’ and pointing at the fire escape saying ‘I threw her off there’.” Mr Knight claimed his mother’s illness had ‘distressed’ him, and he couldn’t bear to see his mother suffer, having decided on the day that “he would be the one to do it”.

Mr Jackson added: “Nothing about this killing can be viewed as compassionate or merciful. He was aware of what he was doing. This was murder.”

The trial continues.