Mother Accused of Attempted Murder Seeks Bail for Mental Health Treatment

A mother accused of driving her children into a creek in an alleged attempted murder plot is seeking bail to receive mental health treatment. The woman, whose identity is suppressed, faces 11 charges, including five counts of attempted murder, stemming from an incident on March 1.

Prosecutors allege the woman drove her vehicle, with her three children under the age of 12 inside, off a boat ramp and into a creek. It is further alleged she locked the car doors and submerged the vehicle, placing the children in danger of death and serious injury, and forcibly held their heads underwater.

The woman made a bail application in the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday, following an unsuccessful attempt in the Magistrates' Court in September. Her barrister, Tim Marsh, presented a psychiatric report suggesting a potential mental impairment defense. Marsh argued that his client suffered from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and pre- and post-natal depression, and was experiencing an acute mental health episode at the time of the alleged offenses.

He stated that the woman had been treated at a secure forensic mental health facility after her arrest but had received limited support since her discharge in April. If granted bail, she plans to obtain a mental health plan from her general practitioner, see a psychologist, and live with her parents, with no contact with her children. Marsh contended that the woman posed no risk to the general community and that any risk to her children could be mitigated, describing the alleged offending as specific to unusual circumstances.

Prosecutor Diana Karamicov opposed bail, expressing concern about the specifics of the proposed community mental health treatment and relaying the husband's worries about potential contact with the children. Justice Amanda Fox is expected to deliver her decision on the bail application on Friday.