A woman who allegedly murdered both of her elderly parents with her own supply of insulin left her father’s home just two hours before he was found unresponsive on the floor, a court has been told
On Monday, Justice Julie McIntyre of the South Australian Supreme Court heard the final submissions for Raelene Polymiadis’ bid for bail.
The 62-year-old diabetic woman has been charged with two counts of murder over the deaths of her parents Brenda and Lynton Anderson, both 94, in 2022 and 2023.
The court has previously been told that Ms Polymiadis allegedly used her own supply of insulin to commit the crimes.
However, prosecutor Karen Ingleton told the court that insulin wasn’t the only substance found in Mr Anderson’s system when he died.
“Ms Polymiadis’ father was living independently but receiving some assistance at home,” Ms Ingleton said.
“At night, he would be assisted by his carer or alternatively by Ms Polymiadis or her sister.
“Her father was found on the floor of his own premises unresponsive by one of his carers in the afternoon.
“Autopsy results suggest that not only had … insulin been supplied, but that he had also received another form of tranquilliser.”
That kind of medication had previously been prescribed for his wife and was later found in the home address, Ms Ingleton told the court.
The court was told still shots from a nearby CCTV camera showed Ms Polymiadis leaving her father’s house at about 1-1.15pm on the day he was found dead.
“He was found unconscious by his carer at about 3pm that day,” Ms Ingleton said.
“The last person that had any contact with Ms Polymiadis’ father, prior to him being found unconscious on the floor, was Ms Polymiadis.”
Ms Polymiadis claims her illness is being mismanaged while in custody and has asked the court to grant her home detention bail so she can manage her diabetes “successfully” as she has done for the past “40 years.”
Her lawyer Marie Shaw KC previously told the court that her client would be in the hands of people who weren’t equipped to manage her illness if she was not granted bail.
“She will potentially – for the next two years, day in and day out, without the scrutiny of a Supreme Court justice – be at the mercy of prison health services whose management has been described as inept,” Ms Shaw said.
“When she returned from hospital, she requested to split her insulin and was refused. When she requested to speak to a doctor about it, she was told there was no doctor available that day.”
Ms Polymiadis collapsed in the Supreme Court cells before a previous court hearing, with fears she had suffered a diabetic attack.
However, hospital notes revealed the incident was caused by stress, not her diabetes.
Justice McIntyre will hand down her decision on bail on Tuesday.