The case of a woman accused of murdering her young grandsons in their rural home has been briefly heard in court, after tragic new details emerged about their deaths.
Kathleen Joyce Heggs, 66, is facing two counts of domestic violence murder over the deaths of Max and Sam Johnson, aged seven and six.
The brothers were found dead in their home on the outskirts of Coonabarabran, in north-west NSW, on the afternoon of May 5.
Police will allege that Heggs drugged the boys before smothering them with a pillow while they were asleep in separate bedrooms.
It’s also alleged an autopsy found traces of a prescription medication in the boys’ systems.
Heggs’ case was briefly mentioned in Dubbo Local Court on Thursday morning, but she was not required to appear via audio-video link from Silverwater jail.
Solicitor Kathleen O’Keeffe, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the brief of evidence was not yet complete.
‘There are a few things outstanding, the most crucial though is the post-mortem,’ Ms O’Keeffe told the court.
Coonabarabran brothers Sam (left) and Max Johnson (right) had school photos taken just weeks before they were found dead.
Kathleen Joyce Heggs (pictured) remains in custody over the deaths of her young grandsons
Magistrate Margaret Quinn adjourned the matter until September, noting prosecutors have a November deadline to serve the brief of evidence.
During a previous mention in July, Heggs’ solicitor Christopher Ford said her defence would relate to mental health.
‘This is going to be a question of my client’s mental health at the time of the offences,’ Mr Ford said.
Heggs was the sole carer for the boys and the family had moved from the NSW Central Coast to Coonabarabran about a year before the alleged murders.
Two junior police officers broke into their house on a semi-rural property after a message sent to the communities and justice department triggered an emergency response.
They found the boys’ bodies in their bedrooms.
Heggs, their maternal grandmother, had harmed herself and was arrested and taken to a mental health unit at Orange hospital before being transferred to the Sydney prison.
The boys were found dead at a home on the outskirts of Coonabarabran in May. Pictured are police at the scene
Prosecutors are still waiting for post-mortem results on the bodies of Max and Sam Johnson
Charge sheets before the court alleged she may have killed the boys as early as 10.30am on May 5.
Police have previously said there were no weapons involved in the alleged murders.
The boys’ deaths shook Coonabarabran, where they went to the local primary school and attended karate classes.
Community members held a candlelight vigil in a park by the Castlereagh River, where they planted two trees in the boys’ honour and displayed the yellow karate belts they were due to receive.
Heggs’ case will return to court on September 4.
Troy and Samantha Johnson, the boys’ biological parents, had been struggling with serious mental health issues and hadn’t seen their children in five years.
Because of their condition, they asked Heggs to take over the care of the boys.
‘This is not how we were meant to get them back,’ Mr Johnson told The Daily Telegraph last month.
‘We are completely broken – but those boys deserve a good send off, and that’s what we are going to give them.’
He said the boys would be buried wearing their karate uniforms and the yellow belts they never got to earn, meant to be awarded the same week they were allegedly killed.
‘That is what Sam and I have been working on,’ Mr Johnson said.
‘We wanted to make sure they got their yellow belts one way or another.’
Lifeline 13 11 14
beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
