Source : Perth Now news
A woman facing a potential life sentence after she gave her terminally ill husband a lethal cocktail of drugs has walked out of court to the sound of cheers.
Kylie Ellina Truswell-Mobbs, 52, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to assisting suicide in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday.
Prosecutors accepted the guilty plea over the death of former firefighter David Ronald Mobbs, 56, at the couple’s Alexandra Hills home in December 2023.
Mr Mobbs was suffering from an aggressive form of motor neurone disease.
Justice Tom Sullivan sentenced Truswell-Mobbs to a suspended jail term after accepting she had acted out of a sense of compassion.
As she left court, Truswell-Mobbs was cheered and hugged by family and supporters.
She said she was happy the court ordeal was over.
“It feels good,” Truswell-Mobbs told reporters.
“(David) was beautiful. He will never be forgotten about.”
Truswell-Mobbs earlier cried and sobbed in the dock after crown prosecutor Caroline Marco accepted her guilty plea to the lesser offence and Justice Sullivan dismissed the murder charge.
“It was exceptionally difficult circumstances in which she found herself,” Ms Marco said.
Mr Mobbs’s once‑strong and fit body had been rapidly paralysed by the degenerative effects of MND soon after being diagnosed in April 2023, Justice Sullivan heard.
Within months, he went from independent to entirely bedridden, unable to walk or move without assistance.
Mr Mobbs had a terminal diagnosis and was likely eligible for voluntary assisted dying under legislation activated in early 2023.
But he had been told accessing it would take nine days or more, defence barrister Ruth O’Gorman said.
By December 5, he could no longer speak, only communicating by blinking, making noises or using a letter board if someone lifted his hand.
Mr Mobbs was also in pain and highly distressed due to losing the ability to use the toilet by himself.
“That night he begged to die,” Ms O’Gorman said.
“There was nothing secret about it. It was done with full knowledge of her sons and number of carers.”
He died on December 6.
Justice Sullivan said it was a challenging sentence due to a lack of similar cases and Truswell-Mobbs having already spent 14 months in custody.
She was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended immediately due to time served.
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