'Hope he suffers': family of pot plant killer speak out

The Advertiser

29-05-2025

The niece of an elderly woman murdered by her son with a pot plant hopes the jailed killer suffers for the rest of his life.
David Andrew Mapp lobbed a pot plant at Colleen Wilson, 82, during an argument at her home in Tumbi Umbi on the NSW Central Coast in July 2022.
The 59-year-old was experiencing heroin withdrawals when he made the rash decision to pick up the 15kg pot filled with soil and a partial brick.
After Ms Wilson's death on July 28, he pawned her television and whipper snipper for $200, funds he used to buy heroin.
He left his mother lying dead on the floor for about eight hours before he called triple zero.
Mapp was jailed on Thursday until at least 2037 after a jury earlier found him guilty of his mother's murder.
"Mum and I are very disappointed in the sentencing," Ms Wilson's niece Jenny Toohey told AAP.
"It will never bring her back and we hope he suffers for the rest of his life for what he did."
NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison described Mapp's difficult relationship with his mother resulting from his 45-year drug addiction.
But he was not satisfied Mapp intended to kill his mother.
"It was not premeditated or planned, being a spontaneous response from loss of control," he said on Thursday.
"The offence arose in the emotionally fraught and troubled environment of a home where he was tolerated, but not particularly welcome."
The judge also accepted Mapp's childhood was marked by domestic violence at the hands of his alcoholic father and emotional deprivation.
During his trial, the jury heard Mapp told police he tried to revive his mother for about eight hours before calling triple zero.
He told the operator "good morning, I'd like to report a death".
When emergency services arrived, Ms Wilson was lying on the floor underneath a red blanket with blood and soil surrounding her.
Mapp told police his mother had been chasing him around the house with kitchen knives during an argument and he threw the pot plant in self-defence.
Ms Toohey's mother, Janice Fowler, became concerned when Ms Wilson did not return her calls on July 28.
Mapp answered one of her calls in the afternoon and said his mother was "down at the shops".
Ms Fowler did not know her sister was already dead.
A jury found Mapp guilty of murder in October 2024, after prosecutors rejected his offer to plead guilty to manslaughter.
Mapp's barrister Sarah Talbert previously argued the offence was spontaneous and impulsive, as evident in his choice of weapon.
But crown prosecutor Carl Young argued Mapp was fuelled by the desire to feed his heroin addiction and intended to kill his mother.
"There were ways to disable his mother that did not include a 15kg pot plant to the head," Mr Young had told the court.
Justice Harrison accepted on Thursday Mapp's motivation for throwing the plant was, to some extent, driven by his intent to obtain money.
But he accepted Mapp's withdrawals were exacerbated in a unique combination of his mental health issues and COVID-19 symptoms.
Justice Harrison jailed Mapp for 21 years with a non-parole period of 15 years, backdated to his arrest in July 2022.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
The niece of an elderly woman murdered by her son with a pot plant hopes the jailed killer suffers for the rest of his life.
David Andrew Mapp lobbed a pot plant at Colleen Wilson, 82, during an argument at her home in Tumbi Umbi on the NSW Central Coast in July 2022.
The 59-year-old was experiencing heroin withdrawals when he made the rash decision to pick up the 15kg pot filled with soil and a partial brick.
After Ms Wilson's death on July 28, he pawned her television and whipper snipper for $200, funds he used to buy heroin.
He left his mother lying dead on the floor for about eight hours before he called triple zero.
Mapp was jailed on Thursday until at least 2037 after a jury earlier found him guilty of his mother's murder.
"Mum and I are very disappointed in the sentencing," Ms Wilson's niece Jenny Toohey told AAP.
"It will never bring her back and we hope he suffers for the rest of his life for what he did."
NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison described Mapp's difficult relationship with his mother resulting from his 45-year drug addiction.
But he was not satisfied Mapp intended to kill his mother.
"It was not premeditated or planned, being a spontaneous response from loss of control," he said on Thursday.
"The offence arose in the emotionally fraught and troubled environment of a home where he was tolerated, but not particularly welcome."
The judge also accepted Mapp's childhood was marked by domestic violence at the hands of his alcoholic father and emotional deprivation.
During his trial, the jury heard Mapp told police he tried to revive his mother for about eight hours before calling triple zero.
He told the operator "good morning, I'd like to report a death".
When emergency services arrived, Ms Wilson was lying on the floor underneath a red blanket with blood and soil surrounding her.
Mapp told police his mother had been chasing him around the house with kitchen knives during an argument and he threw the pot plant in self-defence.
Ms Toohey's mother, Janice Fowler, became concerned when Ms Wilson did not return her calls on July 28.
Mapp answered one of her calls in the afternoon and said his mother was "down at the shops".
Ms Fowler did not know her sister was already dead.
A jury found Mapp guilty of murder in October 2024, after prosecutors rejected his offer to plead guilty to manslaughter.
Mapp's barrister Sarah Talbert previously argued the offence was spontaneous and impulsive, as evident in his choice of weapon.
But crown prosecutor Carl Young argued Mapp was fuelled by the desire to feed his heroin addiction and intended to kill his mother.
"There were ways to disable his mother that did not include a 15kg pot plant to the head," Mr Young had told the court.
Justice Harrison accepted on Thursday Mapp's motivation for throwing the plant was, to some extent, driven by his intent to obtain money.
But he accepted Mapp's withdrawals were exacerbated in a unique combination of his mental health issues and COVID-19 symptoms.
Justice Harrison jailed Mapp for 21 years with a non-parole period of 15 years, backdated to his arrest in July 2022.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
The niece of an elderly woman murdered by her son with a pot plant hopes the jailed killer suffers for the rest of his life.
David Andrew Mapp lobbed a pot plant at Colleen Wilson, 82, during an argument at her home in Tumbi Umbi on the NSW Central Coast in July 2022.
The 59-year-old was experiencing heroin withdrawals when he made the rash decision to pick up the 15kg pot filled with soil and a partial brick.
After Ms Wilson's death on July 28, he pawned her television and whipper snipper for $200, funds he used to buy heroin.
He left his mother lying dead on the floor for about eight hours before he called triple zero.
Mapp was jailed on Thursday until at least 2037 after a jury earlier found him guilty of his mother's murder.
"Mum and I are very disappointed in the sentencing," Ms Wilson's niece Jenny Toohey told AAP.
"It will never bring her back and we hope he suffers for the rest of his life for what he did."
NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison described Mapp's difficult relationship with his mother resulting from his 45-year drug addiction.
But he was not satisfied Mapp intended to kill his mother.
"It was not premeditated or planned, being a spontaneous response from loss of control," he said on Thursday.
"The offence arose in the emotionally fraught and troubled environment of a home where he was tolerated, but not particularly welcome."
The judge also accepted Mapp's childhood was marked by domestic violence at the hands of his alcoholic father and emotional deprivation.
During his trial, the jury heard Mapp told police he tried to revive his mother for about eight hours before calling triple zero.
He told the operator "good morning, I'd like to report a death".
When emergency services arrived, Ms Wilson was lying on the floor underneath a red blanket with blood and soil surrounding her.
Mapp told police his mother had been chasing him around the house with kitchen knives during an argument and he threw the pot plant in self-defence.
Ms Toohey's mother, Janice Fowler, became concerned when Ms Wilson did not return her calls on July 28.
Mapp answered one of her calls in the afternoon and said his mother was "down at the shops".
Ms Fowler did not know her sister was already dead.
A jury found Mapp guilty of murder in October 2024, after prosecutors rejected his offer to plead guilty to manslaughter.
Mapp's barrister Sarah Talbert previously argued the offence was spontaneous and impulsive, as evident in his choice of weapon.
But crown prosecutor Carl Young argued Mapp was fuelled by the desire to feed his heroin addiction and intended to kill his mother.
"There were ways to disable his mother that did not include a 15kg pot plant to the head," Mr Young had told the court.
Justice Harrison accepted on Thursday Mapp's motivation for throwing the plant was, to some extent, driven by his intent to obtain money.
But he accepted Mapp's withdrawals were exacerbated in a unique combination of his mental health issues and COVID-19 symptoms.
Justice Harrison jailed Mapp for 21 years with a non-parole period of 15 years, backdated to his arrest in July 2022.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
The niece of an elderly woman murdered by her son with a pot plant hopes the jailed killer suffers for the rest of his life.
David Andrew Mapp lobbed a pot plant at Colleen Wilson, 82, during an argument at her home in Tumbi Umbi on the NSW Central Coast in July 2022.
The 59-year-old was experiencing heroin withdrawals when he made the rash decision to pick up the 15kg pot filled with soil and a partial brick.
After Ms Wilson's death on July 28, he pawned her television and whipper snipper for $200, funds he used to buy heroin.
He left his mother lying dead on the floor for about eight hours before he called triple zero.
Mapp was jailed on Thursday until at least 2037 after a jury earlier found him guilty of his mother's murder.
"Mum and I are very disappointed in the sentencing," Ms Wilson's niece Jenny Toohey told AAP.
"It will never bring her back and we hope he suffers for the rest of his life for what he did."
NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison described Mapp's difficult relationship with his mother resulting from his 45-year drug addiction.
But he was not satisfied Mapp intended to kill his mother.
"It was not premeditated or planned, being a spontaneous response from loss of control," he said on Thursday.
"The offence arose in the emotionally fraught and troubled environment of a home where he was tolerated, but not particularly welcome."
The judge also accepted Mapp's childhood was marked by domestic violence at the hands of his alcoholic father and emotional deprivation.
During his trial, the jury heard Mapp told police he tried to revive his mother for about eight hours before calling triple zero.
He told the operator "good morning, I'd like to report a death".
When emergency services arrived, Ms Wilson was lying on the floor underneath a red blanket with blood and soil surrounding her.
Mapp told police his mother had been chasing him around the house with kitchen knives during an argument and he threw the pot plant in self-defence.
Ms Toohey's mother, Janice Fowler, became concerned when Ms Wilson did not return her calls on July 28.
Mapp answered one of her calls in the afternoon and said his mother was "down at the shops".
Ms Fowler did not know her sister was already dead.
A jury found Mapp guilty of murder in October 2024, after prosecutors rejected his offer to plead guilty to manslaughter.
Mapp's barrister Sarah Talbert previously argued the offence was spontaneous and impulsive, as evident in his choice of weapon.
But crown prosecutor Carl Young argued Mapp was fuelled by the desire to feed his heroin addiction and intended to kill his mother.
"There were ways to disable his mother that did not include a 15kg pot plant to the head," Mr Young had told the court.
Justice Harrison accepted on Thursday Mapp's motivation for throwing the plant was, to some extent, driven by his intent to obtain money.
But he accepted Mapp's withdrawals were exacerbated in a unique combination of his mental health issues and COVID-19 symptoms.
Justice Harrison jailed Mapp for 21 years with a non-parole period of 15 years, backdated to his arrest in July 2022.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491