Alleged murder victim given ‘promise’ to end suffering

An alleged murder victim who was largely paralysed with terminal brain disease told his sons and wife to promise to kill him, a magistrate has heard.

Kylie Ellina Truswell-Mobbs, 51, faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday for a committal hearing charged with murdering her husband David Ronald Mobbs.

Mobbs, 56, died at the family’s home at Alexandra Hills, south-east of Brisbane, between December 5 and 6, 2023.

Truswell-Mobbs was accused of making three attempts to administer a lethal combination of drugs to Mobbs via his feeding tube.

Her son Rylee Relja told the hearing his step-father had wanted to end his life if he reached the point where he could no longer use the toilet.

That point had arrived on December 5, 2023, magistrate Lewis Shillito heard.

“He was distraught, upset. He was crying,” Relja said.

He told police a toilet incident was a “trigger” for his parents.

“I know dad had made mum promise that if this was to occur then dad didn’t want to continue fighting,” he said.

Asked by Truswell-Mobbs’ barrister Ruth O’Gorman if that meant Mobbs wanted to die, Relja said: “Yes.”

Truswell-Mobbs sat in the dock wearing a T-shirt, jeans and sandals, frequently wiping her eyes with tissues as she listened to the testimony.

Mobbs’ health had rapidly declined after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, an incurable neurological disease that progressively robs the brain of its ability to communicate with muscles.

He was bed-ridden and could communicate through blinks, grunts and by placing his finger on letters written on a signing board.

Relja said he left the family home for less than 30 minutes at 11pm to pick up takeaway food.

“You said ‘mum told me she had given dad something called a cocktail’,” O’Gorman said.

“Yes,” he said.

Relja testified that he asked his dad “is this what you want?” and that he blinked twice in response meaning “yes”.

Mobbs was asked “are you sure you want to OD [overdose] or words to that effect” and again blinked twice, Relja said.

He died peacefully in his sleep over the next few hours, Shillito heard.

Crown prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher asked Relja how he was sure Truswell-Mobbs had an agreement with Mobbs to end his life on December 5.

“I cannot remember,” he said.

His brother Jayden Relja also testified on Monday and said he was away from the house when his father was allegedly given a lethal dose of drugs.

After a meeting on December 5 to discuss palliative care and possibly aiding his death, he asked his dad “surely you can give it another week”.

“He had a bit of a sad face but he nodded his head and raised his eyebrows saying ‘yeah’,” Jayden Relja said.

After hearing from other witnesses, Shillito committed Truswell-Mobbs to stand trial in the Supreme Court at a date to be set.

She declined to say anything in response and was remanded in custody.

AAP