Alleged conspiracy theorist and child kidnapper Juliet Marie Oldroyd expected to enter pleas

A woman who allegedly convinced a Darwin mum to snatch her children and go on the run into the Territory outback is expected to enter her pleas in the Supreme Court.

Juliet Marie Oldroyd, 50, been charged with abducting five-year-old Grace Hughes from Darwin.

An alleged conspiracy theorist and child kidnapper has been bedridden and is unable to speak due to her ‘distress’ ahead of her anticipated plea, a court heard.

Juliet Marie Oldroyd has been charged for allegedly convincing Darwin mother Laura Hinks to kidnap her own children and flee into the Territory outback, sparking a 13-day nationwide search in August 2022.

In November a jury found Ms Hinks guilty of kidnapping her five-year-old daughter Grace from a supervised visit at the Berrimah CatholicCare centre on August 7, 2022.

The jury also found Ms Hinks attempted to abduct her 11-year-old son, who fought off attempts to pull him into a stranger’s car.

The Darwin mum and her five-year-old daughter were reported missing for 13 days, as they were shuffled from a Nakara home to a remote cattle station in the Douglas Daly region.

Almost three years after the incident, the Supreme Court heard on Tuesday that Ms Oldroyd was ready to enter her pleas to the child kidnapping and an attempted abduction charges.

Laura Adele Hinks approaching the Supreme Court in Darwin. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

For months Ms Oldroyd’s case has been repeatedly delayed due to concerns over her fitness to plead and lack of ‘orthodox’ legal representation.

However her new defence lawyer Peter Fam said she would be able to make a plea — although flagged some unconventional hurdles.

Mr Fam told the court that Ms Oldroyd was currently “non verbal” and unable to attend court without risking a psychological relapse.

Juliet Marie Oldroyd, 50, been charged with abducting five-year-old Grace Hughes from Darwin.

The court heard that Ms Oldroyd had been bedridden for the past 18-months, with Mr Fam saying “she simply cannot get out of bed” due to her “degree of distress”.

“I‘ve been able to obtain instructions from her in a somewhat unconventional way,” he said.

“She is — as far as I can tell — completely non-verbal, however she understands what I am saying to her.

“We may need to accommodate her means of communicating, which is either raising her hand or nodding her head as opposed to verbalising her plea.”

Chief Justice Michael Grant gave Ms Oldroyd permission to appear via an audiovisual link, however told Mr Fam she may have to speak to formally enter her pleas.

“You might need to talk to her and see if she’s able to squeeze the word guilty out when she arraigned,” Justice Grant said.

Ms Oldroyd’s matter was adjourned to June 20 for a plea.

Originally published as Alleged conspiracy theorist and child kidnapper Juliet Marie Oldroyd expected to enter pleas