source : the age
The wife of former Automotive Holdings Group chairman Robert Branchi has been arrested and charged with attempted murder over allegations she tried to kill her husband.
Gay Bernadette Branchi, 88, was taken into custody late on Thursday from the Claremont aged care home that she lives at with Robert Branchi.
Gay appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday via audio link from a bedside hearing where she could be heard crying.
Her legal aid lawyer tried to apply for her to be released on bail, but the magistrate said it was not within her jurisdiction to hear such an application due to the seriousness of the charge.
Bail applications for murder and attempted murder charges must be heard in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court, she said, which exclusively handles preliminary proceedings and active case management for serious criminal offences bound for the Supreme Court of WA.
Stirling Gardens only sits once a fortnight.
The court heard there were some “cognitive mental capacity” issues, before the magistrate stated she was concerned about Mrs Branchi remaining in custody as she was very vulnerable and possibly living with dementia.
“I have real concerns as to whether she can be remanded in custody,” she said, before adding, “my hands are tied.”
The court was told Gay and Robert Branchi shared a room at The Queenslea residential aged care home in Claremont, one of Perth’s most expensive care homes, where lump sum deposits for a room reportedly exceed $1.6 million.
Records show the couple also still own the riverside four-bedroom Mosman Park home they first bought in 1995 for $1.5 million, when Mr Branchi was still the chairman of Automotive Holdings Group.
He served as chair of the Perth-based car dealership network from 2004 until he retired in late 2010, before that serving as a director for 25 years.
He had long been a substantial shareholder of the company, owning more than 17 million shares as of 2007.
Mr Branchi is also a friend and mentor to prominent Perth businessman Bronte Howson, who served as chief executive of the company before founding Perth Audi Centre.
In 2016, Mr Branchi sold off shares to net almost $13 million and helms a family foundation that regularly donates to Telethon, as well as the WA Symphony Orchestra.
Mrs Branchi has been listed to appear in Stirling Gardens on Wednesday, September 30, where it is expected she will apply for bail.
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