Wendy Fitzgerald sentenced in Rockhampton court for drug supply

A grandmother has narrowly avoided going behind bars herself after she supplied drugs to a convicted Queensland murderer while visiting him in jail.

Wendy Alice Fitzgerald, 63, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court to supplying drugs to a person within a correctional facility.

A court has heard the ‘breathtaking’ details of how a Queensland grandmother and nurse supplied drugs to a convicted murderer in prison, before being caught in the act on CCTV.

Wendy Alice Fitzgerald, 63, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court on Wednesday to one count of supplying drugs to a person within a correctional facility.

The court heard Fitzgerald was visiting Brett Adam Crowley at the Capricornia Correctional Centre on September 3 last year.

Crowley has been behind bars for the past 16 years, serving life for the brutal murder of his own grandmother in Ipswich in 2006.

Crown prosecutor Cameron Keast told the court that during the visit, Fitzgerald supplied Crowley with 30 strips, which were contained in two packages, of the drug Buprenorphine.

Mr Keast said Fitzgerald hid the drugs in a face mask and she was seen on CCTV handing the drugs to Crowley.

The pair’s meeting was then cut short.

The court heard Crowley had arranged for the drugs to be sent to Fitzgerald’s home.

Mr Keast said Fitzgerald had no criminal history at all and had previously indicated she would plead guilty when the matter was committed to the District Court.

Fitzgerald’s lawyer Rebecca Harris told the court her client had met Crowley through her daughter and built a rapport with him when joining her while visiting him at the prison.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Fitzgerald’s daughter.

She said Crowley told Fitzgerald he “feared for his safety” and was “under pressure” from other inmates to get the drug.

Ms Harris told the court Fitzgerald described herself as being “gullible and foolish” to commit the offence.

She said Fitzgerald considered Crowley a friend and had agreed to help him by supplying the drug.

Ms Harris told the court her client was a widow after her husband died of a heart attack in 2009, and had two children as well as grandchildren.

She said Fitzgerald had worked all her life in nursing as a registered nurse up until she was charged.

After being charged with the offence she surrendered her registration and moved into another role where she was not in contact or handling drugs.

She then resigned in February from that job after indicating her plea of guilty before disciplinary action was taken.

Ms Harris said Fitzgerald offered a lot of support to her daughter who suffered a lot of health issues, as well as her granddaughter.

She said Fitzgerald was very co-operative throughout the whole judicial process.

Judge Vicki Loury took into account Fitzgerald’s plea of guilty and that it came at the earliest opportunity, demonstrating her remorse for her actions.

Judge Loury said it was “breathtaking” a woman of Fitzgerald’s character would put things, such as the care of her daughter and granddaughter, at risk by committing the offence.

She said Buprenorphine was a “commodity” within prisons that “creates havoc”.

“The offence that you committed is a serious one, it carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, that should indicate to you how very seriously our parliament treats the supply of drugs into correctional centres,” she said.

“It’s serious because the drugs you supplied were destined for distribution within the jail, that undermines the system of discipline within the prison and it makes it even more difficult for those serving sentences who wish to rehabilitate to be able to.

“Brett Crowley is no friend of yours, because a friend would not have put you in that situation and would not have asked you, a woman of exemplary character with responsibilities to others within the community, to engage in this sort of conduct.”

Fitzgerald was sentenced to nine months imprisonment which was wholly suspended for a period of 18 months.