Elderly woman accused of child murder denied bail change

Maureen Enright, who is on bail while charged with the murder of her young son 50 years ago, has failed in a bid to no longer have to report to police once a week.

A woman in her 70s who has been charged with murdering her young son more than 50 years ago has failed to persuade a judge to drop one of her bail conditions.

Maureen Enright, 76, was arrested in October, 2020, and charged with the murder of her son, Peter John Enright.

Police allege the autistic boy was three or four years old at the time of his death at Inala in either 1968 or 1969.

A month after Enright’s arrest she was granted bail by Supreme Court Justice Peter Callaghan, who described the Crown case for murder at that time as “at the very least, weak”.

Enright was granted bail with a residential condition and a condition that she report to police once a week.

Maureen Enright has been charged with her son's murder 50 years ago.

Her lawyer today applied to the court to vary the bail conditions, asking that she not have to report to police at all.

Anne-Maree Russo told Justice Frances Williams that Enright had been 100 per cent compliant with reporting and it should not be necessary for her to continue to do so.

Ms Russo said because of Enright’s medical condition, the bail condition was more onerous than necessary, particularly given the Covid-19 environment.

A lawyer for the Crown opposed removal of the reporting condition, because of the risk of flight because Enright was on a murder charge.

She said the Director of Public Prosecutions had previously allowed Enright’s requests to vary the condition.

She had been allowed to change the reporting day and hours, to report by phone at times and reporting had been suspended when she provide medical evidence that it was necessary.

Ms Russo said the risk of Enright leaving Queensland was not a realistic one, given her age, health and significant ties to the community.

Forensic officers use ground penetrating radar under a house in Inala as part of their investigation into 1960s murder of a child. Maureen Enright has been charged with murder.

Justice Williams said murder was a very serious offence, which if there was a conviction, carried a mandatory life sentence.

She said the risk of flight remained a risk, given the nature and seriousness of the charge.

Justice Williams said the reporting condition was the only one that enabled police to monitor Enright on a weekly basis.

She said it was not too onerous to report once a week and it was important that the condition remained, to balance the risks under all the circumstances.

Justice Williams said Enright could apply to report by phone if she had heightened concerns about being exposed to Covid by reporting in person.

At her previous bail application in 2020, prosecutor Mark Whitbread conceded there was no evidence about how the boy died.

“In respect of murder there is no evidence as to what mechanism caused the death of the child,” Mr Whitbread said.

“It really comes down to the child missing from a certain day and the various versions given by Ms Enright as to where the child is that the Crown says can be disproved.”