A Queensland woman who gave her terminally ill husband a combination of drugs after he begged her to end his suffering has pleaded guilty to aiding his suicide and received a two-year suspended sentence.
Kylie Ellina Truswell-Mobbs, 52, admitted the offence over the December 2023 death of David Ronald Mobbs at their home in Alexandra Hills. The prosecution accepted the plea as an alternative to murder.
At Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Tom Sullivan took into account her early guilty plea and the 14 months she had spent in pre-sentence custody.
The court heard the couple had been together for 20 years and had raised a family before Mr Mobbs was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in April 2023. His condition deteriorated rapidly, leaving him unable to walk, sleep or move without assistance.
He communicated using a letter board and required constant care. In the week before his death, a nurse recorded that he could no longer use his iPad or tolerate oral medication.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Caroline Marco said the family had discussed Mr Mobbs’s care after he returned home from hospital. Voluntary assisted dying was raised, but the process would have taken several weeks.
Mr Mobbs initially agreed to hold on for at least another week after one of his sons asked him to do so. Later that day, he suffered an episode of incontinence, which caused the family further concern.
That evening, he communicated to his wife that he wanted to die. After other relatives and carers had left the immediate area, Truswell-Mobbs administered several medications, including morphine and diazepam.
Mr Mobbs died at about 5pm on December 6, 2023. His cause of death was recorded as mixed drug toxicity, with motor neurone disease identified as a significant contributing condition.
Ms Marco told the court that Truswell-Mobbs later acknowledged to carers and others that she had given her husband an overdose to end his suffering. During a voluntary police interview, she said he had repeatedly asked her to end his life and had communicated that wish through his letter board.
“Her actions arose from compassion for a terminally ill loved one and was a desire to relieve suffering, rather than selfish, improper or ulterior motives,” Ms Marco said.
Defence barrister Ruth O’Gorman KC said Mr Mobbs had become dependent on a wheelchair and needed one or two people to move him to bed. He was also reliant on a ventilator, in significant pain and experiencing incontinence in the days before his death.
One carer described him as being in more pain than anyone she had ever encountered. His family visited shortly before his death and put up a Christmas tree for him.
Ms O’Gorman said Truswell-Mobbs had been a devoted carer facing grief, loneliness and fear. She said the medication had been administered openly in the household, where one of the couple’s sons and several carers were present.
“That night Mobbs could not continue and begged his wife to end his life. She did that by administering pain medication over the course of the night,” she said.
Justice Sullivan said he accepted that Truswell-Mobbs had acted out of love and affection.
“I accept that what you did on the occasion was motivated by love and affection in your case,” he said.
Supporters cheered as Truswell-Mobbs left the court. She said she was pleased the legal process was over and that it felt as though a weight had been lifted.
Asked about her husband, she said: “He was beautiful, never ever forgotten about.”
