Maree Mavis Crabtree likely to face new trial this year

A Gold Coast woman accused of murdering two of her adult children will likely face a new trial this year after she attended court on Tuesday.

Maree Mavis Crabtree. Picture: NewsWire/John Gass

A woman accused of murdering two of her adult children may not face a new trial until late in the year.

Gold Coast mother Maree Mavis Crabtree, 58, has been charged with the alleged murders of her son Jonathan, in 2017, and daughter Erin in 2012.

The deaths are being prosecuted separately and Crabtree’s trial for the alleged murder of Jonathan, to which she pleaded not guilty, was aborted after a successful mistrial application several days after it began in February last year.

The crown accused Crabtree of giving Jonathan, 26, a fruit juice laced with a fatal dose of prescription medication before allegedly claiming thousands of dollars from his life insurance payout afterwards.

Erin and Jonathan Crabtree.

But the trial was abandoned after new information emerged and Justice Peter Davis raised what he said were serious concerns about the prosecution’s witness Tara, who is Crabtree’s surviving daughter.

The matter was mentioned in Brisbane’s Supreme Court on Tuesday.

“We’re effectively writing off the first half of the year, when’s this trial going to get on?” Justice Davis asked.

The court heard Crabtree’s barrister Angus Edwards, KC, had availability for a trial in October.

Justice Davis adjourned the matter to May 26 for a pre-trial hearing involving Tara and an expert witness.

Crabtree, who attended court, was first charged in January 2018 and remained on remand until granted bail following last year’s mistrial.

Originally published as Maree Mavis Crabtree likely to face new trial this year