A woman who has been behind bars for more than six years accused of murdering her two adult children has sobbed as a judge questioned whether there is any prospect of her being convicted.
Jurors were discharged on Feb. 6 in the Brisbane trial of Maree Mavis Crabtree who had pleaded not guilty to one count each of murder, attempted murder and attempted insurance fraud.
The Crown alleged Crabtree, now 57, murdered her son Jonathan Crabtree by giving him an overdose of prescription drugs in a fruit smoothie in July 2017 after trying to poison him earlier that same year.
The trial related only to the death in the family’s Maudsland, Gold Coast home of the 26-year-old who had a brain injury from a car crash.
Crabtree was also committed in 2021 - but is yet to stand trial - for the alleged murder in 2012 of her daughter Erin, 18.
Justice Peter Davis discharged the Supreme Court jury on Feb. 6, saying new information had come to light.
“What has since been discovered is that there are hundreds if not thousands of pages of documents which have been provided by the Adult Guardian upon subpoena which may be relevant to the case,” Justice Davis said.
The Public Trustee is also likely to have documents, he said.
“It is in the interests of justice that these inquiries are made and proper opportunity given to the defence to study the material.”
In the trial opening crown prosecutor Philip McCarthy KC said Jonathan’s younger sister Tara would tell the court of standing lookout when Crabtree mixed a drink containing oxycodone.
On Tuesday, Justice Davis said the Crown agreed it could only succeed on any of the three counts if the jury accepted Tara’s evidence.
He said there were significant problems with that evidence.
Tara was “mentally compromised”, had a motivation to lie about her mother, has given various inconsistent versions, has probably destroyed evidence and sought to have evidence destroyed, he added.
“That is the quality of the evidence which is the essential linchpin of the crown case.”
Justice Davis said there was also a mystery regarding the packaging of pills which the Crown said Crabtree must have been disposed of as they were not found.
“But one would have to ask why Mrs. Crabtree would remove the packaging if she murdered Jonathan and wished it to look like suicide,” Justice Davis said.
“In my view the Crown should now consider whether there is any real prospect of a conviction or in the event that there is a conviction, of that conviction surviving an appeal.”
Crabtree who has been in prison since her arrest in January 2018 wiped away tears when Justice Davis addressed the court and smiled when he discharged the jury.
Her barrister Angus Edwards told the trial the possibility Jonathan was deliberately given the fatal dose of oxycodone via the smoothie from Crabtree was based on a story Tara told two years after his death.
Mr. Edwards told the jury the whole trial was about whether they believed Tara’s story was honest and consistent with independent evidence.
It was possible Jonathan had accidentally or deliberately taken a drug overdose, he said.
Crabtree is due to apply for bail and have her cases mentioned on Feb. 6.
