The mother of NRL premiership star Payne Haas plans to use a mental health defense in response to charges related to a fatal head-on collision that occurred during a police chase.
Uiatu “Joan” Taufua appeared before the Queensland Supreme Court today for arraignment on three manslaughter charges connected to the tragic crash on a narrow rural road in the Gold Coast hinterland on December 30, 2022.
While Taufua was expected to enter pleas, her lawyer, Martin Longhurst, requested the case be transferred to the Mental Health Court instead.
“This case has a lengthy history. A psychiatric evaluation has taken a considerable time,” Longhurst stated.
“I received the report just yesterday afternoon and have shared it with the prosecutors. It indicates a possible defense under section 27,” he added.
Section 27 of the Queensland Criminal Code provides an insanity defense, suggesting that an individual is not legally responsible for their actions if they were suffering from delusions or lacked the mental capacity to understand or control their actions, or to discern right from wrong.
Taufua’s case should be immediately referred to the Mental Health Court, Longhurst told Justice Elizabeth Wilson.
That court decides whether an alleged offender was of unsound mind.
Taufua stood in the dock wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a black dress with a yellow flower pattern.
Police will allege that she was fleeing police before ploughing into an oncoming vehicle, killing Chris Fawcett, 79, Susan Zimmer, 70, and her 35-year-old daughter Steffanie.
Longhurst told the Supreme Court in October Taufua had struggled to accept the death of her child.
“In the time leading up to the driving, the defendant had been displaying very aberrant behaviour,” Longhurst said.
Chace Haas, 21, died in Gold Coast Hospital in August 2020.
He had lived his entire life using a wheelchair after breaking his neck in a car accident at just five months of age.
It would be extraordinary for a case that has been running since December 2022 to have a referral to the Mental Health Court at this stage, crown prosecutor Dejana Kovac said.
“It’s very unfortunate for the parents of the deceased,” Ms Kovac said.
“It’s a position that could have been avoided had these issues been sorted out earlier than yesterday at 4.58pm. The prolonged process has already had an impact on the families.”
Taufua – the mother of Brisbane Broncos forward Payne and Gold Coast Titans rising star Klese Haas – was the crash’s sole survivor.
Taufua was on parole at the time of the crash after being sentenced to nine months in prison for assaulting two security guards at The Star casino.
She was subsequently returned to custody after the collision.
In November 2024, Taufua was committed to stand trial after conceding she had a prima facie case to answer.
Justice Wilson said she would suspend Taufua’s Supreme Court matter.
Taufua was remanded in custody and her case will return to the Supreme Court in February for an update on the Mental Health Court’s progress.
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