‘Devoted carer’ sentenced for helping sick husband die
Rex Martinich |
A woman who provided fatal drugs to her dying husband out of compassion and love as his “devoted carer” has walked from court after a murder charge was dropped.
Kylie Ellina Truswell-Mobbs faced a possible lengthy jail term after she gave her terminally ill husband a lethal cocktail of drugs.
Instead, on Monday, she walked out of court to the sound of cheers.
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 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 love and 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.
A similar past case in Victoria had resulted in a suspended sentence of five years’ imprisonment, Justice Sullivan heard.
“The gravity involved in the offence lies in the protection of the sanctity of life,” Ms Marco said.
“Truswell-Mobbs’ moral culpability falls toward the lower end of the spectrum … her actions arose from compassion for a terminally ill loved one.”
The couple had been in a relationship for 20 years and raised two sons.
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 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.
Mr Mobbs’s other legal alternative was a slow death by refusing medical treatment.
“It’s uncontentious that Ms Truswell-Mobbs was a devoted carer,” Ms 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 in pain and highly distressed after 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.
Truswell-Mobbs should not have a suspended sentence hanging over her head after spending 14 months on remand, most of which was in an isolated cell, Ms O’Gorman said.
Truswell-Mobbs was arrested 16 months after admitting to police she had given her husband the fatal overdose.
Justice Sullivan said it was a challenging sentence because of a lack of similar cases and Truswell-Mobbs having spent more time in custody than was warranted.
But the community needed reminding that assisting suicide was a serious offence that carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, he found.
“You have no criminal record and have been a valuable member of society, ” Justice Sullivan told Truswell-Mobbs.
“There is no risk of you reoffending.
“However, the law which you have offended (against) has concern for the preservation of life and protection of vulnerable people.”
She was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended immediately because of time served.
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AAP