Charlie Younes: Stepdad defends murder charge in Sydney
A man accused of murdering his disabled stepson is standing trial in Sydney, where a jury heard the boy‘s frantic mother calling for help after his body was found drowned in the bath.
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A jury has heard the harrowing triple-zero calls that came after a mother found her heavily disabled son drowned in the bath as the boy’s stepfather fights a charge of murder.
Steven Copo-Horton was 18 years old when he was found unresponsive in the bath of his mother’s new home at Everton in October 2013.
“My disabled boy, he must have crawled into the bathroom while we were asleep,” Rebecca Horton screamed to the emergency dispatcher.
“We found him drowned in the water.”
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The dispatcher, trying to calm Ms Horton, asks if her boy is awake.
“No he’s not, he’s dead,” the frantic mother responds.
Her partner, Charbel “Charlie” Younes, begs for an ambulance and tells the dispatcher Steven had been taken out of the water before the phone call is hung up.
The dispatcher calls them back, in the screaming and chaos in the background of the call someone tells her “he’s purple”.
The dispatcher tries to walk the family through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as Younes screams the boy’s name over and over.
The two phone calls were played before the NSW Supreme Court where a jury has been asked to decide if Younes is guilty of Steven’s murder.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Wednesday marked the first day of evidence in the trial, which is being held in Sydney.
It will continue on Thursday.