Tyler Peck: Mother found guilty of causing son’s drugs death

35-year-old mother-of-five gave teenager and his friend beer, liquid morphine, aerosols and epilepsy medication at home in Salcombe, Devon

Holly Strawbridge's son died of an overdose in February (Plymouth Live /SWNS)

A mother-of-five faces a jail sentence after being found guilty of joining her teenage son and one of his friends in a drug binge before the 15-year-old died from an overdose.

Holly Strawbridge, 35, shared powerful painkillers with the two boys in the kitchen of her family home, a jury decided.

She poured liquid morphine into their beer, they sniffed aerosols together she and gave them strips of epilepsy drug Gabapentin at her house in Salcombe, Devon, in February.

Tyler Peck died in his sleep.

His cause of death was recorded as an overdose of Oramorph and Gabapentin, but he also had Valium and codeine in his system – all of which had been prescribed to Strawbridge.

Strawbridge's husband Gavin and her four younger children were asleep upstairs as the tragedy unfolded.

She had denied two counts of supplying the boys with a Class A drug.

She had also pleaded not guilty to two counts of cruelty relating to sharing the drugs and alcohol with the two 15-year-olds.

But a jury of eight women and four men found her guilty of all counts by unanimous verdict after almost seven hours of deliberation.

Judge Paul Darlow adjourned sentencing until 17 January. He has also ordered a pre-sentence report but warned custody was inevitable.

Strawbridge wept as she was taken away in handcuffs after being found guilty of all charges.

The trial, which spread over nine days, was held up after the defendant’s own mother died unexpectedly.

Strawbridge claimed she put her son to bed unaware he had taken her powerful medication.

She denied giving either of the boys anything other than beer.

Strawbridge also claimed Tyler’s friends were making up stories about her supplying them with drugs over the previous two years.

She claimed Tyler's father had offered them money to tell lies about her.

The court heard Tyler had started smoking at the age of nine, using cannabis aged 12 before moving on to hard drugs when he was 13 or 14.

He had mostly grown up with his father and stepmother, but had been allowed to live with his mother for the last four months of his life - despite concerns of his mental health worker and social workers.

Additional reporting by SWNS