The ex-wife of a celebrity photographer admitted to killing her 10-year-old son with a mental disability while struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic – after calling herself “messiah” who had to “sacrifice my beloved son”, according with a report.
Olga Freeman, 40, collapsed before stuffing a sponge into Dylan’s mouth and covering him with a blanket between his toys at his Acton, West London apartment in August 2020, the Times of London reported.
In a virtual court hearing on Monday at a mental hospital, Freeman denied the murder, but admitted the manslaughter as a result of diminished liability, the media reported.
Dylan’s father, celebrity and fashion photographer Dean Freeman, 57, was in Spain at the time of his son’s death.
The boy – who had autism, myopia and significant communication problems – needed care 24 hours a day and attended a special school five days a week.
The court was informed that local authorities did not provide Dylan with extra assistance during the pandemic, according to the Times.
The week before her death, Freeman talked about saving the world and being a messiah – and insisting that she had to travel to Jerusalem.
“This is my job: sacrificing my beloved son to create balance in this world,” she said in a recording.
Hours before killing Dylan, the Russian citizen argued with her ex about her role in caring for her son, the court heard.
Freeman’s friend Edita Surpickaja told the court earlier that her mother had struggled to meet Dylan’s needs and that her mental health had deteriorated.
Surpickaja helped Freeman about 12 hours a week, but the local council did not help, despite repeated requests, he was informed to the court.
The night before Dylan’s meeting, Freeman sent a message saying, “I’m done. Where are you?”
When Surpickaja arrived at the house, she discovered that Freeman had booked two seats on a flight from London to Tel Aviv – and told her friend not to enter the room.
“We need to go to Jerusalem. I did what I did. Sometimes, when things are going well, it can be very bad, ”Freeman told Surpickaja, who hid his mother’s passport, according to the Times.
Surpickaja recorded a conversation on a phone in which Freeman said he had no choice but to kill Dylan.
After an argument, the women went to the Acton police station, where Freeman loudly announced, “I killed my son.”
Freeman told police that she tried to “kill him gently” by giving the boy an overdose of a hormone treatment for insomnia, but when that didn’t work, she used her bra and hands to strangle him before inserting the sponge into his mouth .
Prosecutor Gareth Patterson told the court that the wrongful manslaughter argument was acceptable.
“Partial defense of diminished liability is available to the defendant based on a severe depressive episode with psychotic symptoms at the time,” he said.
“This is acceptable for the prosecution after careful consideration and additional extensive investigations by the officers conducting this investigation,” added Patterson.
The judge postponed the sentence until February 11 after hearing a defense recommendation that the appropriate action would be a restricted hospital order.
The father, who has been divorced from Freeman for some time, has already paid tribute to his deceased son.
“Dylan was a beautiful, intelligent, curious and artistic child who loved to travel, visit art galleries and swim,” said Dean Freeman.
“We traveled a lot over the years together, spending memorable moments in places like Brazil, France and Spain. I cannot understand your loss, ”he added.
The bereaved father photographed well-known figures, including the Spice Girls, actor Bradley Cooper and model Emily Ratajkowski.
Dean’s father Robert Freeman was also a photographer for famous musicians, including the great jazz John Coltrane and the Beatles, for whom he filmed famous album covers in the 1960s.
After the guilty plea, Kristen Katsouris of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This was a tragic death for a child at the hands of his mother, who was struggling to survive.
“Olga Freeman loved and cared for Dylan for many years, but the tension and pressures of her son’s severe and complex special needs have increased and this, combined with her poor mental health, has led to devastating consequences,” she said.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this case,” added Katsouris.