A woman accused of murdering her adult son by giving him an overdose of painkillers did so to rid herself of a “troubled young man”, a court has heard.
Maree Mavis Crabtree, 57, faced Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to one count of attempted murder, one count of murder and one count of attempted insurance fraud.
Jonathan Crabtree, 26, was found dead at 9.55am on July 19, 2017 in the family’s home at Maudsland, north of the Gold Coast, with an excessive amount of prescription oxycodone in his system.
Crown prosecutor Philip McCarthy told the jury in his opening statement for the trial he would endeavour to prove Crabtree deliberately administered a drink to her son containing the oxycodone that killed him.
“Jonathan’s younger sister, Tara, will tell us of her mother’s plan to kill her brother. She will tell us, frankly, that she helped her mother,” Mr. McCarthy said.
Mr. McCarthy said Tara would testify that she stood lookout while Crabtree mixed the drink and she heard Jonathan struggling to breathe during the night after he drank it.
Crabtree was also accused of attempting to murder Jonathan in a similar manner on January 10, 2017.
Mr. McCarthy said the jury would hear testimony from a pharmacist that Crabtree would always collect prescriptions on Tara’s behalf.
Mr. McCarthy said Jonathan had a brain injury as a result of a car crash and his mother found his behaviour difficult and abusive.
“He was a troubled young man, he used drugs and required significant physical care,” Mr. McCarthy said.
