Mother who stabbed two sons says drugs played a role

ABC NEWS (Australia)

An Adelaide mother who stabbed her two young sons on the side of a motorway in 2022 has told a court her drug use was the substantial cause of the attack. The woman had consumed methamphetamine and cannabis in the hours beforehand.

Transcript

00:00The South Australian Supreme Court heard Megan Somerville pulled over on the north-south

00:07motorway before removing her two children from the car and stabbing them multiple times.

00:12Today, lawyers for the 37-year-old mother told the court she acknowledges that methamphetamine

00:18and cannabis exacerbated the symptoms of her psychosis at the time.

00:23The lawyers said they will be providing evidence to encourage the court to remand Ms Somerville

00:28in the mental health facility rather than be sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

00:34Footage previously shown to the court shows Ms Somerville removing the two boys from the

00:39car and thrusting her arm toward them multiple times.

00:43Vision from a police officer's body-worn camera showed Ms Somerville covered in blood

00:48and saying she was proud of what she did.

00:51A forensic psychiatrist previously told the court he believed the mother of two had been

00:56experiencing worsening psychotic symptoms at the time of the offending and believed

01:02she was doing the right thing.

01:04The matter will return to court in October.

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