Vial of blood and note seized in drug-spiked smoothie murder case
A vial of blood and a cryptic note were found in the room of a man allegedly killed by his mother, a jury has heard.
Maree Mavis Crabtree stands accused of killing her son Jonathan, 26, with a drug-spiked smoothie.
The prosecution closed its case on Friday, arguing Crabtree prepared the smoothie spiked with prescription drug oxycodone in July 2017 at the family’s Gold Coast home, and later made a $125,000 insurance claim.
Crabtree, 59, is also accused of attempting to murder Jonathan earlier that year.
She pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, and fraud charges when her trial began in the Supreme Court last month.
Crabtree and her legal team chose not to take the stand after the last witness gave evidence on Friday morning.
Earlier in the morning, the jury heard expert opinion about a handwritten note found in an Elmo bin in Jonathan’s room.
A note examiner compared the writing to samples of Jonathan and his mother. In his opinion, there was qualified support for the proposition that the note was written by Jonathan.
The court earlier heard the note was incomplete, and read: “Hey mum, my brian [sic] is keep telling me to do this. I want you Maree to have my share of BH.”
As part of admissions made before the court, the jury heard police also seized a vial of blood from Jonathan’s bedroom after his death.
It was forensically tested, and found to have no alcohol, but oxycodone was present, the court heard.
The court heard the blood matched Jonathan’s, but several factors – including when the blood was drawn, the date it was placed on the bedside table and the conditions it was stored in – could not be determined.
Jonathan had been admitted to the Gold Coast University Hospital and Robina Hospital on several occasions between 2013 and a few months before his death, the court heard.
In several of the incidents, Jonathan was transferred from the emergency ward of GCUH to Robina Hospital’s mental health ward.
The court heard there were also several anonymous reports made to police in the months before his death relating to claims Jonathan was in possession of various drugs and steroids, and that he had doctor shopped, before selling prescription medication on social media.
The jury is expected to hear closing addresses from the prosecution and defence on Tuesday, before Justice Martin Burns’ summary remarks.
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