Shocking post-mortem update on the Coonabarabran boys found dead in their grandmother's home
Prosecutors are still waiting for post-mortem results in the case of a woman accused of murdering her two young grandsons in their rural home.
Kathleen Joyce Heggs, 66, is facing two counts of domestic violence murder over the deaths of Max and Sam Johnson, aged seven and six.
The brothers were found dead in their home on the outskirts of Coonabarabran, in north-west NSW, on the afternoon of May 5.
Police will allege that Heggs drugged the boys before smothering them while they were asleep in separate bedrooms.
It's also alleged an autopsy found traces of a prescription medication in the boys' systems.
Heggs' case was briefly mentioned in Dubbo Local Court on Thursday morning, but she was not required to appear via audio-video link from Silverwater jail.
Solicitor Kathleen O'Keeffe, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the brief of evidence was not yet complete.
'There are a few things outstanding, the most crucial though is the post-mortem,' Ms O'Keeffe told the court.
Magistrate Margaret Quinn adjourned the matter until September, noting prosecutors have a November deadline to serve the brief of evidence.
During a previous mention in July, Heggs' solicitor Christopher Ford said her defence would relate to mental health.
'This is going to be a question of my client's mental health at the time of the offences,' Mr Ford said.
Heggs was the sole carer for the boys and the family had moved from the NSW Central Coast to Coonabarabran about a year before the alleged murders.
Two junior police officers broke into their house on a semi-rural property after a message sent to the communities and justice department triggered an emergency response.
They found the boys' bodies in their bedrooms.
Heggs, their maternal grandmother, had harmed herself and was arrested and taken to a mental health unit at Orange hospital before being transferred to the Sydney prison.
Charge sheets before the court alleged she may have killed the boys as early as 10.30am on May 5.
Police have previously said there were no weapons involved in the alleged murders.
The boys' deaths shook Coonabarabran, where they went to the local primary school and attended karate classes.
Community members held a candlelight vigil in a park by the Castlereagh River, where they planted two trees in the boys' honour and displayed the yellow karate belts they were due to receive.
Heggs' case will return to court on September 4.
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