Source : Perth Now news
WARNING: Distressing
A Melbourne mother was allegedly attempting to kill her three children when she drove the family car into a creek, a court has been told.
The woman, who cannot be named, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday where she entered not guilty pleas to a series of charges including attempted murder and reckless conduct endangering life.
Police allege the woman, aged in her 30s, deliberately drove into a creek earlier this year just three weeks after the birth of her third child.
Outlining the police case, detective senior constable Amy Tuck said it was alleged the woman sent her husband out to look for a new dining table at IKEA, suggesting she “wanted to look after all the kids that afternoon”.
Shortly after he left, the court was told, the woman allegedly got her children, all aged under 12, into her car, saying they were going to go for a drive to settle the baby.
Constable Tuck said they returned home shortly before midday, with the woman then calling her eldest upstairs to take a bath.
It’s alleged the woman then attempted to push the boy down in the water but he used his legs to struggle and avoid being submerged.
The court was told the woman then allegedly got her children back into the car and did not respond to calls or text messages from her husband who was sending pictures of dining tables.
Shortly before 12.30pm it’s alleged the woman drove at “full speed” off a boat ramp into a Melbourne creek.
Constable Tuck said the woman allegedly opened her door as the vehicle was starting to submerge and instructed her two eldest to get out of the car.
It’s alleged the woman then “pushed” into her middle child’s back, causing them to be submerged for a period of time.
The court was told she then allegedly instructed the children back into the car and attempted to reverse out of the creek.
Constable Tuck said witnesses called triple-0 after seeing the vehicle and hearing children screaming before entering the water and carrying all three children to the shore.
When police arrived, it’s alleged the woman said she was “just like taking them for a drive” and “it was just an accident, it’s just slippy”.
She later allegedly said she did not feel “mentally fit” for a formal interview.
The woman’s middle child allegedly later told police she was underwater for about 5 seconds and thought her mother was going to drown her.
“I asked if she was trying to hurt me and she said no I was trying to save you,” the child allegedly said.
Her eldest child allegedly told police he was “suspicious” during the second drive after the alleged incident in the bath.
“She went full speed into the water… I didn’t know what was happening,” he said.
The court was told the woman had allegedly previously been diagnosed with severe obsessional compulsive disorder and was observed days before the alleged incident demonstrating “severe anxiety and struggling to form language”.
On her phone, police allegedly found a series of online searches including; “how to kill a child quickly”, “best methods to kill a child”, “why do I feel suffocated at home”, “I get no good feels from motherhood” and “murder sentence Victoria”.
In text messages to her mother sent months earlier the woman allegedly said she “can’t do this anymore”, needed to “get out” and wanted to put the baby up for adoption.
The court was told the woman had spent time in a prison hospital after her arrest and had recently been assessed by forensic psychiatrist Adam Deacon.
Dr Deacon had expressed the opinion her “mental health symptoms, if not completely resolved, have reduced” while in custody.
The woman is expected to apply for bail later this week to live with her parents and receive psychological help.
Police, the court was told, will oppose her release by arguing she poses an unacceptable risk of interfering with witnesses and endangering the safety of the public.
She has also been committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court.
