The 59-year-old woman faces allegations of attempting to murder her son earlier in January of the same year.
At the commencement of her trial at the Brisbane Supreme Court today, Crabtree entered pleas of not guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder, and fraud.
According to Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco, paramedics discovered her son deceased on his bed at 9:55 a.m., with his legs dangling off and a Spider-Man backpack nearby.
“A pathologist concluded that an excessive quantity of oxycodone in his bloodstream was the cause of his sudden and unexpected demise,” Marco informed the jury.
Police investigations did not uncover any prescription painkillers or their packaging in his room or among the other medications in the Spider-Man backpack.
“The Crown intends to demonstrate that his mother was responsible for his death by intentionally giving him a shake, prepared with a blender in their kitchen, which contained the oxycodone that led to his death,” Marco stated.
The jury was told they would hear from Crabtree’s daughter Tara, who would testify that she helped her mother by keeping a lookout as she prepared the drink and of later hearing the son struggling and coughing throughout the night.
“Tara will tell you the next morning her mother told her Jonathan was dead but it was four hours later that (Crabtree) called Triple Zero,” Marco said.
“Tara says that was not the first time that her mother had given a drink to Jonathan containing oxycodone with the intent of ending his life.”
Jonathan was a “troubled man” with abusive behaviours who used drugs and had been charged with robbing a chemist, the jury heard.
A car crash in 2015 had left him with permanent injuries that meant he required physical care.
Crabtree lived in the Maudsland home that was jointly owned by her two children.
“She told Tara that Jonathan’s involvement in the robbery had put the family’s finances in jeopardy, which was the reason why she needed to kill him,” Marco said.
Crabtree found her living situation with her son “no longer tolerable” but she did not have the money to buy out his stake of the house, the jury heard.
Investigators found numerous bottles of liquid oxycodone in the family’s home and a smoothie blender that tested positive for drugs, Marco said.
Defence barrister Angus Edwards was expected to make an opening statement.
The trial is due to run for five weeks before Justice Martin Burns and hear from 60 witnesses.
