Maree Mavis Crabtree made daughter she is accused of murdering ask for permission to make a sandwich: court
A mother accused of torturing and murdering her adult children required her teen daughter to ask for permission to do one basic thing, a court has been told.
Friends of a man allegedly murdered by his mother have told a court of the strange arrangement he or other family members would have to accompany his sister whenever she wanted to go out.
More details of Jonathan Crabtree’s troubled mental health and the care he provided for his sister were revealed at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday on the second day of Maree Mavis Crabtree’s committal hearing.
Police allege Ms Crabtree murdered her adult children Erin, 18, and Jonathan, 26, on separate dates in 2012 and 2017 and claim insurance payouts from their deaths.
It is alleged the Gold Coast mum supplied both siblings with prescription medication to keep them bedridden and claim further payouts.
Jonathan’s ex-girlfriend Rebekah Millard gave evidence that Erin rarely spoke when she was around.
“She was very much like a seven-year-old … she was interested in stuffed teddies, childish things a little girl would be interested in,” Ms Millard said.
“It seemed to me she wasn’t able to make a lot of decisions for herself.
“Every decision she would want to make she would need permission … like making herself a sandwich.”
Ms Millard said Jonathan was receiving benefits as Erin’s carer but told the court much of the work would be done by Ms Crabtree.
She said Jonathan, Ms Crabtree or another family member would accompany Erin when she wanted to go out.
“I can’t recall many positions … where Jonathan was making decisions for her (Erin),” she said.
The court heard their relationship was marked by wild mood swings and Jonathan regularly threatened to take his own life.
On one occasion, Ms Millard said he overdosed on prescription drugs and had revealed a stash of steroids he kept hidden from his mother.
Ms Millard said Jonathan learned of Erin’s death in 2012 while on a family cruise but gave different stories of how she died when he returned.
“I didn’t know she (Erin) hadn’t gone on the cruise,” she said.
The court was told Jonathan was hospitalised after a serious car crash in 2015.
Justin Burney, one of Jonathan’s friends, told the court on Wednesday his mate “deliberately” crashed his car and he became more depressed afterwards.
“He started drifting away, the way he was talking and what he would send was very different,” Mr Burney said.
“It was sometimes not good.”
The pair last spoke in 2017 during an argument over Facebook before Mr Burney found out Jonathan had died.
Mr Burney said Jonathan had disclosed his addiction to prescription medication, including oxycodone and tramadol, and that he felt “responsible” for Erin’s death.
Another friend, Rebecca McKinniery, said Jonathan was depressed after the accident and had disclosed to her he wouldn’t go on a “dream holiday”.
She said she was concerned about Jonathan’s self medication, including his use of the “strongest oxycodone you could get”.
The committal hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial in a higher court.
Ms Crabtree is facing eight charges of obtaining a financial benefit by deception and another 11 charges that include torture, murder, attempted murder, fraud and robbery.
On Tuesday, the court was told Ms Crabtree controlled Jonathan’s life, refusing to let him get a job, limiting his finances and forcing him to share a Facebook account with her.
Witnesses testified Jonathan lived in fear of his mother and had struggled to deal with Erin’s death.
The hearing continues.