Toxicology reports and expert analysis provided in case of Megan Somerville
A mother accused of trying to kill her two children in the middle of traffic on the North-South Motorway could have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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A mother accused of attempting to murder her two children could have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the Supreme Court has heard.
On Monday, Megan Somerville, 35, pleaded not guilty by way of mental incompetence to two charges of attempted murder.
Justice Sandi McDonald heard that Ms Somerville would not be contesting the objective elements of the crime – namely that she stabbed her two sons aged 3 and 8 in Wingfield on August 15 last year.
However, reports prepared by the defence concluded that Ms Somerville was mentally incompetent at the time of the attack.
Peter Cannell, prosecuting, asked for the matter to be adjourned to allow for specialist doctors to prepare more reports on Ms Somerville’s mental competence.
He said the prosecution had disclosed toxicology reports and an analysis by a noted chemist of a “count back” of a substance in Ms Somerville’s blood.
Trish Johnson, for Ms Somerville, said the new toxicology report was likely to have a bearing on the way Ms Somerville’s matter continues through the courts.
It is unclear what the toxicology report and the count back reveal.
Under current state legislation people who are mentally incompetent through drug or alcohol use are dealt with under “self-induced intoxication” laws.
A finding of self-induced intoxication means that a person otherwise incompetent to commit a crime can be sentenced to prison, rather than placed under licence which would see them detained in a mental health facility.
The case will be back before the court in May.
Ms Somerville has been detained in James Nash House, a forensic mental health facility, since her arrest last year.
At the time police alleged she pulled her car over on the side of a freeway and attacked the two children with a knife.
A passer-by stopped the attack and detained Ms Somerville until police arrived.
Both children required surgery for their injuries, however they were expected to make a full recovery.
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