Edward Downes "serious health problems" suffered by the couple. A statement issued by the couple's children said that while Downes could have gone on living with his deafness and blindness, he did not want to do so after his wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In March 2010, Keir Starmer (director of public prosecutions) stated that Caractacus Downes would not be prosecuted for his involvement with his parents' assisted suicide because it was not in the public interest. Edward Downes Sir Edward Thomas ("Ted") Downes, CBE (17 June 1924 – 10 July 2009) was an English conductor, specialising in opera. He was
Katherine Downes Katherine Downes Katherine 'Kat' Downes (born 1982-3) is an award-winning English television presenter who currently works on the BBC News Channel and BBC Breakfast, specialising in sports coverage. In 2009, Downes was working at BBC South East for which she won Best Newcomer at the Royal Television Society Southern Centre Awards in 2010. Downes joined the BBC Sport team in 2012 when it moved to Salford. She had previously worked as a reporter and occasional presenter on BBC South East Today, as well as reporting on a variety of news stories as a correspondent for BBC Breakfast and the BBC