A MUM accused of lacing her son’s fruit smoothie with a lethal cocktail of drugs has pleaded not guilty to his murder.

Maree Mavis Crabtree is alleged to have secretly blended a deadly dose of painkillers into a shake given to her 26-year-old son Jonathan before leaving him to die in his bedroom.

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Maree Mavis Crabtree pleads not guilty to murdering son Jonathan with spiked fruit smoothieCredit: ABC
 

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Jonathan, 26, was found dead in his bedroomCredit: X/@MareeCrabtree
 

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Prosecutors claim Crabtree deliberately crushed prescription drugs and mixed them into a fruit smoothieCredit: X/@MareeCrabtree
The 59-year-old woman is standing trial at Brisbane Supreme Court over the alleged killing at the family home near the Gold Coast in July 2017.

She has also denied attempting to murder Jonathan months earlier and attempting to fraudulently claim more than £50,000 ($100,000) after his death.

Prosecutors claim Crabtree deliberately crushed prescription drugs and mixed them into a fruit smoothie prepared in a kitchen blender.

The drink allegedly contained oxycodone – a powerful prescription painkiller – which a pathologist later determined caused Jonathan’s sudden and unexpected death.

Jurors heard emergency services were called on the morning of July 19 after Crabtree reported her son was not breathing.

But Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said she allegedly refused to perform CPR when urged by the triple-zero operator.

“She had a bad back and that she could not stay in the room with him ‘as she thought he was then dead’,” Ms Marco told the court.

When paramedics arrived at the home about 9.55am they found Jonathan lying on his bed with his legs hanging to the floor and a Spider-Man backpack nearby.

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The jury heard he was already showing “obvious signs that he had been dead for hours.”

Prosecutors allege the fatal drink was disguised with fruit to mask the smell of the drugs.

Jonathan’s sister Tara Crabtree – who has been granted immunity from prosecution – is expected to tell the jury she helped her mother by keeping lookout while the smoothie was prepared.

“She will tell you that she helped her mother by keeping lookout as her mother prepared the drink, and after he drank it, hearing him struggling and coughing during the night,” Ms Marco said.

“Tara will tell you the next morning her mother told her that Jonathan was dead, but it was not for hours later that she called triple-0.”

Ms Marco said Tara would also claim the deadly smoothie was not the first alleged attempt on Jonathan’s life.

“Tara says that that was not the first time that her mother had given a drink to Jonathan containing oxycodone with the intent of ending his life,” she told the court.

The jury heard Tara would describe another incident months earlier when she allegedly saw her mother crushing tablets into a milkshake.

On a later occasion, Tara claims she watched as medication and crushed pills were poured into a blender along with fruit pieces.

She said the fruit was allegedly used to disguise the strong smell of the drug.

Prosecutors claim Crabtree later made a dishonest claim for a death benefit from Jonathan’s superannuation fund.

At the time of his death, Jonathan shared ownership of the Maudsland home with his sister, while their mother lived there but was not listed on the title.

Ms Marco said the household was often tense and that Jonathan had been a “troubled young man” who abused drugs.

He had previously been charged with robbing a chemist and suffered permanent injuries in a serious car crash in 2015 that left him needing physical care.

The court heard Crabtree had told people her son was “difficult and abusive”.

“She told Tara that his involvement in the robbery had put their family’s finances in jeopardy, which was the reason why she needed to kill him,” Ms Marco said.

Investigators later found numerous bottles of liquid oxycodone inside the house and a smoothie blender that tested positive for drugs.

But Crabtree’s defence team says the case hinges entirely on whether jurors believe her daughter’s version of events.

Barrister Angus Edwards told the court Tara had admitted lying to police and only accused her mother more than two years after Jonathan’s death.

“That is the real issue in this trial. Do you believe Tara Crabtree’s story?” he said.

He suggested Jonathan – described as a “violent, suicidal, drug addict” – could have taken the drugs himself.

“Somehow those drugs got into him,” Mr Edwards said.

“There is of course the possibility that Jonathan Crabtree, deliberately or accidentally, had an overdose of drugs to which he had access.”

Mr Edwards also questioned Tara’s motives for speaking out.

“What are her motives when she came out with this story about her mother? Is something sinister going on here?” he asked.

“Has it helped her with property or financially? Was she looking at the family home?”

The trial, before Justice Martin Burns, is expected to run for five weeks and hear from about 60 witnesses including Tara Crabtree, neighbours, a pharmacist and emergency workers.

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The 59-year-old woman is standing trial at Brisbane Supreme CourtCredit: ABC
 

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Prosecutors claim Crabtree later made a dishonest claim for a death benefit from Jonathan’s superannuation fundCredit: ABC
 

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The court heard Crabtree had told people her son was “difficult and abusive”Credit: X/@MareeCrabtree