A FAMILY doctor deliberately killed three seriously-ill patients by administering fatal doses of morphine, a court heard yesterday.

Dr Howard Martin, who was a GP and partner in a County Durham medical practice group, denies the murders of Frank Moss, 59, Stanley Weldon, 74, and Harry Gittins, 74, between March 2003 and January last year.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the 71-year-old killed the men because he believed it was their time to die.

In one incident, the court was told the GP lied to the family of Mr Gittins, telling them he was riddled with cancer and would die in hours.

When Mr Gittins' daughter, Gillian Coates, questioned the doctor's claims, the GP allegedly said: "For God's sake the man is dying, he has got cancer, he is dying."

The claim was untrue, the court heard.

Robert Smith, prosecuting, said: "What the prosecution say is that, in doing so, Dr Martin was not acting in the interests of his patients but had chosen to terminate their lives.

"Each of these patients was seriously ill. It would, of course, be understandable to ask the question whether all Dr Martin was doing was merely easing the suffering of his patients, but the prosecution submit it was not as simple as that.

"The prosecution say Dr Martin deliberately intended to kill or cause serious harm."

Dr Martin was, at the time of the alleged offences, a partner in the Jubilee Medical Group and a GP at the Pioneering Care Centre, in Carers Way, Newton Aycliffe, the Valley surgery, Eldon Lane, Bishop Auckland, and The Surgery, Burke Street, Shildon.

The married father-of-four, now living in Gwynedd, North Wales, is accused of murdering Frank Moss, on March 14, 2003; Stanley Weldon, on March 18, 2003; and Harry Gittins, on January 22 last year.

Mr Smith said: "One of his patients had a reasonable life expectancy. Another was still modestly active in his own home.

The third was very close to death but, the prosecution say, there is no justification for ending his life when Dr Martin did.

"Each of these patients was entitled to determine their own destiny and it was not for Dr Martin to determine when and under what circumstances they should die."

The court heard that Mr Moss, of New Row, Eldon, near Bishop Auckland, was terminally ill after being diagnosed with cancer of the lung, in February 2002.

On March 13, 2003, Dr Martin visited the patient at his home several times and injected him with three 60mg doses of morphine over a ten hour period. Mr Moss died at about 4.30am the next day.

Mr Smith said: "These were very substantial doses of that drug."

A post-mortem examination concluded the cause of death was a combination of cancer of the lung and morphine poisoning.

Former miner Stanley Weldon, of Kimberley Street, Coundon Grange, suffered from severe dementia, had lost his ability to talk and was frail.

The jury heard that, at the time of his death, he was residing in the Greenfields House nursing home in Newton Aycliffe.

He was seen by Dr Martin at the home, in March 2003, who noted he was suffering from breathing difficulties and administered 60mg doses of morphine.

He died four days after Mr Moss.

Mr Smith said a side effect of morphine was to affect breathing and the doctor would know this.

He said: "The outcome, say the prosecution, was inevitable."

Dr Martin was arrested after concerns were raised by Mr Gittins' family over his treatment.

The court heard the father-of-two was suffering from cancer of the oesophagus and had returned to his home in Newton Aycliffe after receiving hospital treatment.

On January 21 last year, Dr Martin visited the retired engineer and administered a substantial combination of drugs, namely morphine, diamorphine and chlorpronazine, over a period of 15 hours. He died the following day.

The prosecution said the quantity of drugs was grossly inappropriate, and Dr Martin would have known it was likely to kill the patient.

Dr Martin allegedly told the patient's family that he had received a letter from hospital telling him Mr Gittins' cancer had spread and that he had the evidence on his laptop computer.

The prosecution said Mr Gittins was not at a terminal stage of his illness, and that the GP did not own or have access to a laptop, was computer illiterate, and had never been sent a hospital letter.

Mr Smith said: "Everything he had said to the family was untrue."

The trial continues.