Former Winchester mayor cleared of trying to smother his dying mother

David McLean’s alleged confessions of killing his mother with a pillow deemed unreliable by judge

A former mayor accused of trying to smother his dying mother with a pillow has been cleared after a judge ruled his confessions of killing her were inherently unreliable.

David McLean was accused of attempting to murder his 92-year-old mother, Margaret McLean, by covering her face as he told her: “Sorry, Mum.”