Overview
- A Gloucester Crown Court jury returned a not‑guilty verdict for Jane Barnard on December 8 in the death of resident Derek Davies.
- Barnard had already pleaded guilty to wilful neglect of Mr Davies and faces sentencing under the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.
- Court evidence described a medication error in which Mr Davies was given another resident’s slow‑release morphine, his correct medication was discarded, and the mistake was not immediately reported before 999 was called.
- Mr Davies died two days after the error, and the recorded cause of death was later revised from a brainstem stroke to consequences of morphine toxicity.
- Charges were authorised by the CPS in July 2024 following a Gloucestershire Police Public Protection Unit investigation, and Mr Davies’s family said the prolonged uncertainty caused profound distress.