At the televised hearing, which took place in Court Two of the Old Bailey at 10 am on 28 July 2022, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of ten years by Her Honour Judge Sarah Munro QC.
The court was told that his mental health had deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic to the point that he became obsessed about catching COVID and asked his grandmother to help him commit suicide.
[1][2][4] The use of cameras in court had been illegal since unauthorised pictures of the 1910 trial of Dr Crippen were published by the international media, prompting Parliament to legislate against the taking of photographs.
The filming of criminal proceedings was finally given approval in 2020 with the passing through Parliament of the Crown Court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020.
For the hearing the camera is placed at the back of the courtroom and focused on the judge; no other court officials, barristers, the defendant, witnesses, jurors or the public gallery can be filmed.