Mom Killed 2 Adult Children With Disabilities For Insurance Payout, Controlled Son's Money

A mother, who has been accused of murdering her two adult children to claim insurance payouts, had controlled her son’s finances and even refused to let him get a job, a court heard Tuesday.

Maree Mavis Crabtree of Gold Coast, Australia, has been accused of murdering her daughter Erin, 18, and son Jonathan, 26, using prescription drugs. The alleged murders happened in 2012 and 2017, reported 9News.

The police believe that Crabtree slowly poisoned her two children, who had severe disabilities, by using prescription medicines over an extended period of time.

Erin was found dead in September 2012 while Crabtree was on a cruise. Jonathan was found dead at the same address in Queensland five years later in July 2017, according to a report by 9 News.

Cassandra Hopper, Jonathan’s friend, testified in the court Tuesday that Crabtree was “controlling” her son and Jonathan had to “live by her rules.” She told the court that Jonathan was pretty self-destructive after Erin’s death.

“(He) was very upset about it and didn't want to be alive because she was dead,” Hopper said, reported news outlet Victor Harbor Times. She also told the court that Crabtree did not allow Jonathan to get a job.

Jonathan’s former girlfriend Katelyn Loft told the court that his behavior had changed several months into their relationship and that he became violent. Jonathan reportedly told her that he was using a different medication and showed her injection marks on his arms.

“I told him not to do it again, I told him it was … (not his) medication,” Loft told the court.

Loft claimed that she had felt groggy and fell asleep on three occasions after Crabtree mixed something in her drink. She also told the court that Crabtree refused to act even when she saw Jonathan assaulting her. Jonathan reportedly drove into a tree in 2017 and was on life support for several months. Loft told the court that Jonathan was “petrified” of Crabtree and that he drove into the tree because he wanted to kill himself.

Peter McMahon, Crabtree’s ex-husband, told the court that the two children had no health issues when he lived with her between 2003 and 2008. He also said that he had noticed a change in Erin’s behavior around 2005. McMahon told the court that Erin went from being “talkative and outgoing” to not speaking to anyone and not even responding in writing.

Crabtree faces 11 charges including murder, torture, attempted murder and fraud. She also faces another eight counts of obtaining a financial benefit by deception for trying to claim more than $100,000 in death benefits.