Jacob is looking down on me from above

Ex-SAS soldier Andrew Wragg, 38, was convicted of manslaughter and given a two-year suspended sentence after Mrs Justice Rafferty accepted ten-year-old Jacob's death was the result of a deed done by a man suffering from diminished responsibility.

But she strongly rejected a claim made during the retrial by Wragg's former wife Mary that she did not know her husband was planning to kill Jacob - who had the degenerative disease Hunter syndrome - on July 24 last year.

Wragg, who was embraced by his girlfriend Zuhre Butler as he left the court, has vowed never to discuss the case.

But he told a close friend after the verdict: "My darling little Jacob is looking down on me from above and looking after me."

Wragg's father, retired policeman Bob Wragg, said: "We have lost many, many nights sleep over it. It has been extremely difficult, as you can imagine.

"Our health has suffered. Andy has found it extremely difficult but the right result has come out. It is just a shame we all had to go through two trials to get to the end result.

"Andy never denied what he did. He was prepared to accept punishment for it in whatever way the judge thought appropriate.

"We fully understand the difficulties that surrounded the case. Jacob was extremely ill and going to die but we are not suggesting for one moment that should give carte blanche in any circumstances."

Mrs Wragg had told the court she took the couple's youngest son out of the family home in Worthing on the night of Jacob's death, claiming she was expecting an evening of privacy with the defendant.

The trial at Lewes Crown Court heard how Wragg had called his wife on the day of the killing, saying: "It's tonight".

Former SAS soldier Wragg used a pillow to smother Jacob but claimed it was a mercy killing designed to end the boy's suffering.

Judge Rafferty said to Wragg of his former wife: "One would have to be quite remarkably naive to accept that this dedicated and experienced mother behaved in that way solely so as to enjoy an evening of prolonged intimacy.

"I have no doubt she was complicit. Had I concluded otherwise I should have formed a harsher view of you.

"I accept that you would not have taken Jacob's life had you, for a moment, thought that she disagreed with what you were to do."

Speaking after the hearing, Mrs Wragg, wearing a lock of hair believed to be Jacob's on her jumper, said she was shocked by the sentence.

She said: "This case was never about Jacob's quality of life. Jacob never judged his own life.

"He wasn't aware he was different or less able in any way.

"It has been extremely difficult to sit and listen as the dignity of my little boy has been destroyed in an effort to reduce the impact of his death.

"Jacob's condition has been used as an excuse for this crime and I find it appalling that anyone would try and portray him as being less deserving of his life or less entitled to enjoy every precious moment his condition allowed.

"There are many sensitive issues raised by this tragedy which I know have affected other families but I just need to say, as Jacob's mother, how proud I am to have loved and cared for such a spirited, happy and unique individual.

"I am shocked by the sentence and the message it sends to others."

She declined to comment on the accusation that she had been complicit in the killing.

A jury of eight men and four women accepted Andrew Wragg's account and acquitted him of murder. He admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Wragg, who used a pillow to suffocate Jacob at the family home in Henty Close, Worthing, was found guilty of manslaughter by the jury after five hours' deliberation.

The trial heard how Wragg had "seen in Jacob's eyes" that he wanted his father to end his life, a claim Michael Sayers QC, defending, said was proof that Wragg had been suffering an abnormality of mind at the time of the killing.

Immediately after Jacob's death, Wragg dialled 999, saying he had murdered his son, and later the same night that it had been a mercy killing. Sentencing Wragg to two years in jail, suspended for two years, Judge Rafferty said nothing could be gained from taking away Wragg's liberty.

She noted that without Wragg's admission that he had killed the youngster, a death of natural causes would have been recorded due to Jacob's worsening state which was obstructing his breathing.

And she also sent out a "resounding message" that Jacob's death had not been a mercy killing but a "deed done by a man suffering from diminished responsibility." Mrs Justice Rafferty said: "Killings range from the actions of the sadist to those of a man who, as a mercy, kills a loved one in response to a plea for release from a terminal illness."

She told Wragg: "Although Jacob was unable to make such a plea I accept your genuinely held belief was that what you did would bring to an early end a life afflicted and drawing inexorably to its close without intervention."

The judge said evidence suggested Jacob's airways were so congested by his condition that no one would have known he had been smothered. Mrs Justice Rafferty said Wragg had served his country in a successful Army career which he gave up out of love for his family. She said: "In my view it was when you quit that life, which demanded structure and which recognised valour, that your path to this court began.

"No matter your motive, the end of Jacob's life was not in your gift.

"I am well aware that no sentence the court passes can be measured against the loss of him. Nor should it be."

The prosecution claimed Jacob's death was a "selfish killing done in drink" because Wragg could no longer cope with the boy's deteriorating condition.

Philip Katz QC, prosecuting, rejected the defendant's claim that he was suffering an abnormality of mind, arguing that he had "plans for the future" including a return to Iraq as an £80,000-a-year security guard.

Mrs Wragg told the ten-day trial that Jacob was not at "death's door" but was "happy and jolly" on the day he died.

But Mr Sayers argued Wragg's actions in killing the boy while believing his son wanted him to do it was evidence of his abnormal mental state.

Defence psychiatrist Nicholas Wright added that Wragg had been suffering with an "adjustment disorder" on his return from Iraq.

Speaking after today's hearing, Wragg's father said the family now wished to grieve for Jacob in peace.

He said: "We are very pleased with the sentence and all the sympathy shown by the judge.

"We would now ask that we are at last allowed to grieve the loss of Jacob, who we all loved dearly."

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Johns, who led the inquiry into Jacob's death, said: "This has been a desperately difficult and sad case."

Wragg declined to comment as he left court before driving away.

Detective Chief Inspector Johns declined to comment on whether police would now be re-interviewing Mary Wragg after the judge's comments. Mr Johns said his team's sympathies were with Jacob's family and friends.

Jacob's mother had been arrested on the night of the killing but had been released later without charge.

Wragg's family wept in the public gallery of Court One when the judge announced the suspended sentence.

He said they now wanted to be left alone to grieve for the loss of Jacob.