Juliet Oldroyd, Angela Marcus face hurdles ahead of trial over alleged kidnapping of Grace Hughes

Doubts loom over the ability of an alleged conspiracy theorist‘s ability to face a child abduction trial due to ‘orthodox legal representation’ and mental health concerns.

An alleged conspiracy theorist accused of convincing a Darwin mum to kidnap her own children and flee into the Territory outback will need a psychiatric evaluation ahead of her Supreme Court trial.

Juliet Marie Oldroyd was expected to appear before Chief Justice Michael Grant on Friday in preparation for her kidnapping trial, however the 52-year-old never arrived at the Supreme Court.

It is alleged that Ms Oldroyd was with convicted kidnapper Laura Hinks when she snatched her five-year-old daughter Grace from a supervised visit at the Berrimah CatholicCare centre in August 2022.

The incident sparked a nationwide missing persons search for the little girl, who was eventually returned safe and unharmed back to police after 13 days.

Ms Oldroyd was also charged with abducting a child under 16-years-old.

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

For months questions have been raised over Ms Oldroyd’s mental health and ability to attend her own trial, as well as her willingness to organise “orthodox legal representation”. 

Three months after her trial was meant to begin, Justice Grant ordered that the alleged kidnapper would need to meet with a court-approved psychiatrist to assess her “fitness to plead”.

Prosecutor Ian Read said it needed to be explained to Ms Oldroyd that she had to attend this medical appointment, or else she would have to “go into custody”.

Outside of court, her husband Craig Oldroyd said his wife was not doing well, stating “she’s sick”.

Craig Oldroyd leaving the Supreme Court in Darwin. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Her co-accused Angela Rita Marcus was charged with aiding another to commit an offence, as it was alleged the five-year-old girl was brought to her Nakara home in the immediate wake of the kidnapping.

In November Ms Marcus was due to face a jury trial, however the same day it was meant to begin she fired her legal representative before marching out of the court.

Chief Justice Michael Grant said it was “a transparent attempt to derail the trial”, with Ms Marcus also making “spurious” and “baseless” claims that the prosecutor was under investigation for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

“You had extremely competent legal representation available to you, but you chose by your conduct to dispense with that representation for an ulterior purpose.”

Angela Rita Marcus faces the Supreme Court in Darwin charged in relation to the alleged abduction of 5-year-old Grace Hughes in 2022. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

In November he suggested she re-engage with Legal Aid NT, stating: “your interests are best served by having competent legal representation”.

However, three months on Ms Marcus said she would be representing herself, as her attempts to find a new lawyer “fell through, as it turned out to be a scam”.

She said did not want to pay any money to Legal Aid NT for a new lawyer — despite fees starting at just $110, with some clients asked to provide slightly more based on their financial position.

“I’m not willing to contribute a cent to the fraud of this court,” Ms Marcus said.

Angela Rita Marcus attempts to hide from a journalist outside of the Supreme Court in Darwin. Ms Marcus is charged with aiding another to commit an offence in relation to the alleged kidnapping of Grace Hughes. Picture: Zizi Averill

Before the Friday hearing, Ms Marcus was overheard telling other lawyers that Legal Aid NT had requested she provide “my latest pap smear” alongside legal and financial documents.

Legal Aid NT said it was unable to comment on individual cases, but its website makes no mention of needing any medical documents in order to apply for help.

Angela Rita Marcus attempts to hide from a journalist outside of the Supreme Court in Darwin. Ms Marcus is charged with aiding another to commit an offence in relation to the alleged kidnapping of Grace Hughes. Picture: Zizi Averill

Before walking out of the Supreme Court Ms Marcus yelled to a journalist: “You are single-handedly ruining my career” and “you f — king dog”.

Shielding herself from the cameras using a scarf, the 51-year-old called out “you’re f — king going out in the Nuremberg trials”, a reference to the Nazi German leaders who stood trial for crimes against humanity following WWII.

Both Ms Marcus and Ms Oldroyd are expected to appear for their pre-trial hearings on March 17.

Originally published as Juliet Oldroyd, Angela Marcus face hurdles ahead of trial over alleged kidnapping of Grace Hughes