Attempted murder mother pleads not guilty on mental health grounds


A mother charged with the attempted murder of her two children on a major Adelaide highway has pleaded not guilty as she prepares to argue mental incompetence.

On Thursday, Megan Jayne Somerville, 35, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court via audio-video link from a closed mental health facility.

Lawyer Trish Johnson, who specialises in cases involving mental incompetence, pleaded not guilty to two charges of attempted murder on Ms Somerville’s behalf.

The charges arise from an incident in August this year, when police were called to the North-South Motorway just before 11:30pm on a Monday evening following reports a woman had been detained by a member of the public.

Camera IconMs Somerville is accused of stabbing her two sons in the middle of traffic on the North-South Motorway in South Australia in August this year. Facebook Credit: Supplied
Supplied Editorial
Camera IconMs Somerville’s mental competence to commit the crime is to be discussed. Facebook Credit: Supplied

It is alleged Ms Somerville, of Modbury Heights, stopped her silver Honda sedan and removed her two sons, aged 3 and 8, before stabbing them “a number of times” with a knife.

Prosecution counsel Peter Cannell on Thursday asked Magistrate Michelle Sutcliffe to fast track Ms Somerville’s committal to the Supreme Court, stating there was already a case to answer.

“I know that’s an unusual position to take, but those are my instructions,” Mr Cannell said.

“There is a case to answer on the material that’s been provided already, and there is still further outstanding material.”

Mr Cannell asked for an arraignment date in 2023.

In a press conference in August, SAPOL Superintendent Selena Dinning said the incident was “horrific”.

“Police officers are very resilient, but we’re also very mindful of the fact … to be confronted with an incident like this is very significant,” Superintendent Dinning said.

“We’re very mindful of the wellbeing of our staff in matters like this.”

Presser at Police Headquarters
Camera IconSuperintendent Selena Dinning said the scene was horrific. NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes Credit: News Corp Australia

Ms Somerville’s sister, Jessica, has previously spoken out, saying Megan had previously had contact with both SA Police and the Department for Child Protection.

“Despite repeated interactions with SAPOL and the Department of Child Protection, the system has failed to appropriately intervene,” Jessica said.

She said her nephews shouldn’t have been in her sister’s care and other alternatives should have been considered.

Jessica revealed her sister had been struggling with drug addiction and mental health issues over the last eight years.

Ms Somerville will again appear in court at a later date.

Supplied Editorial
Camera IconMs Somerville has pleaded not guilty. Credit: Supplied, Facebook



Source link

Denial of responsibility! galaxyconcerns is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.