Crabtree case concerns

The case against a Gold Coast mother accused of murdering her two adult children is at risk of collapsing after a judge raised serious concerns about the prosecution’s key witness and questioned whether it was in the interest of justice to pursue the charges.

Justice Peter Davis urged the Crown to consider the future of charges brought against Maree Mavis Crabtree (pictured) who has spent more than six years in custody awaiting trial for the alleged murders of her son Jonathan and daughter Erin.

Crabtree’s trial for Jonathan’s murder began last week but was adjourned for days after new evidence came to light, prompting a mistrial application from defence barrister Angus Edwards KC on Tuesday. In granting the mistrial, Justice

Davis took a wider aim at the future of the criminal charges relating to both Jonathan and Erin.

He said the parties agreed that the present trial relied on the jury accepting the evidence of Crabtree’s surviving daughter Tara who alleges her mother mixed a lethal fruit smoothie filled with drugs to poison her brother.

But Justice Davis said Tara’s evidence was contradicted by much of the physical evidence and expert testimony.

“Tara is a mentally compromised indemnified accomplice who has a motivation to lie about her mother, has given various inconsistent versions, has probably destroyed evidence and has sought to have evidence destroyed,” Justice Davis said

“That is the quality of the evidence which is the essential lynchpin of the Crown case.

“The jury would have to be directed that it would be dangerous to convict Mrs Crabtree on the evidence of Tara unless material support for her evidence could be identified.”

Justice Davis said there appeared to be little evidence to support Tara’s version.

“Very serious questions arise in my mind for the Crown as to whether it is in interest of justice to continue the prosecution of Mrs Crabtree based as it is on the evidence of Tara Crabtree with all its inherent weaknesses and in light it is contradicted by other evidence, much of which is in the form of unchallenged opinion of highly experience and respected experts,” he said.

Justice Davis said the police found no remnants of the summer fruits allegedly used in the smoothie during a search of the house, and that the type of drugs Tara alleged Jonathan was poisoned with were contradicted by scientific evidence.

Justice Davis said Tara’s evidence that her mother had placed drug packets in her brother’s backpack to make his alleged murder look like suicide was also contradicted by the police search.

Crabtree was emotional as Justice Davis spoke, sobbing, smiling, nodding and burying her head in her hands. Justice

Davis said it was clear from High Court precedent that it was not his function to determine whether a conviction based on Tara’s evidence might constitute an unreasonable verdict.

“It is my function though to fashion proper directions to the jury which in a case like this would include a warning as to the dangers of accepting the evidence of Tara unless it was materially supported by other evidence,” he said.

He said it was “very difficult” to see how Tara’s evidence could be improved and that the new information which came to light was likely to further attack and damage her evidence.

Crabtree will apply for bail on Wednesday when the criminal matter will also be mentioned.