Mistress, 30, who used morphine to drug her lover’s wife’s drink so they could unlock her phone to see if SHE was having an affair is freed from jail by Court of Appeal judge
- Jessica Coote-Sellers, 30, was convicted for drugging her lover’s wife in 2017
- She was sentenced to 16 months after a trial at York Crown Court in December
- But Court of Appeal judges have now reduced it and suspended it for 18 months
- Comes after Coote-Sellers told them her lover Richard Gell was ‘posessive’
The mistress of a cheating husband who was convicted of using morphine to drug his wife’s drink to find out if she was having an affair has been freed from jail by the Court of Appeal.
Jessica Coote-Sellers was sentenced to 16 months in prison after admitting a charge of administering a poisonous or noxious substance with intent.
But her sentence has now been reduced to 12 months and suspended for 18 months after Court of Appeal judges heard her lover was ‘possessive’ and ‘abusive’.
The 30-year-old and her lover Richard Gell drugged his wife in August 2017 as he suspected she too was having an affair.
They planned to use her fingerprint to unlock her his wife’s phone to see if she and another man had exchanged messages, York Crown Court heard in December.
Jessica Coote-Sellers was sentenced to 16 months in prison after admitting a charge of administering a poisonous or noxious substance with intent in December. But that has now been reduced by Court of Appeal judges
Mr Justice Butcher, sitting with Lady Justice Macur and Mr Justice Jay, said Coote-Sellers had admitted the drugging to her victim.
The judge said the pair were in contact after Coote-Sellers’ relationship with Gell ended and that she told the victim: ‘I could tell you something but it could land me with a charge’.
Mr Justice Butcher continued: ‘(Gell) had drugged her to get her fingerprint, the idea was that she would be unconscious and he could access her phone.’
The pair had used a soluble morphine known as Oramorph for the drugging, which ‘sent her to sleep’, a court heard.
But Gell was unsuccessful in accessing his wife’s phone as he could not prise her hands apart.
Richard Gell, 42, drugged his wife with the help of his lover using a soluable morphine
Coote-Sellers admitted a charge of administering a poisonous or noxious substance with intent at York Crown Court (pictured, stock image) in December
The court heard it was a ‘complete gamble’ that the drugging could have resulted in an overdose.
After the victim went to the police, Coote-Sellers admitted the charge and described Gell as ‘possessive’.
‘She said she felt pressured into getting the drugs by emotional blackmail,’ Mr Justice Butcher said.
After a short hearing on Wednesday, Coote-Sellers’ sentence was reduced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
The judge continued: ‘It is apparent that the relationship between the appellant and Gell was in various ways an abusive one.’
He said the end of Coote-Sellers’ relationship with Gell had brought a ‘considerable positive difference to her life’.
The judge concluded: ‘In our judgment, the need for appropriate punishment does not require any further time in immediate custody.’