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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The Independent
11 minutes ago
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Rape, murder and secret burials: Temple worker's chilling confession shakes holy town
A temple town, a mystery whistleblower and a chilling confession: allegations of rape, murder and the secret burial of hundreds of women and girls over two decades have shocked the quiet holy town of Dharmasthala in southern India 's Karnataka. His face hidden behind a black hood, a whistleblower appeared before a local court earlier this month carrying skeletal remains that he claimed were taken from a mass burial site of sexual assault victims. The man claimed to be a former sanitation worker at the Dharmasthala temple and alleged he was forced into secretly disposing of hundreds of bodies, many of which showed signs of brutal violence and sexual assault. In a written complaint to the police chief of Dakshina Kannada district, the man, whose identity is being withheld for his safety, said he worked under duress for nearly 20 years before fleeing into hiding with his family in 2014. Driven by guilt, remorse and haunting nightmares, he had returned after more than a decade to expose the 'horrific crimes' he allegedly witnessed during his time working at the temple. According to his testimony and redacted complaint seen by The Independent, the alleged rape, torture and murder of girls and women and the disposal of their remains occurred between 1995 and 2014. The whistleblower demanded exhumation of the hundreds of corpses he claimed to have buried and an investigation so that justice could be ensured for the victims 'who were denied dignity even in death'. His lawyer, KV Dhananjay, told The Independent this was an 'unprecedented' case where the witness had come forward not only with his testimony but also evidence, demanding accountability. 'Here is the individual who says that it is not the fear of law but the fear of conscience and fear for morality that has brought him back,' Dhananjay said. 'In the last 100 years of court judgments, you don't find a parallel.' The emergence of a whistleblower has put the spotlight on hundreds of cases of women and girls who were found dead or reported missing in and around Dharmasthala over the years, many of which were ignored or not formally investigated by police. Nearly two weeks after the man filed his complaint, Karnataka's state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the allegations. Nestled in the lush Western Ghats on the banks of the Nethravathi river, Dharmasthala is a major Hindu pilgrimage site. The medieval Shri Manjunatha Temple, dedicated to the deity Shiva and managed by a family, attracts millions of devotees to the small town every year. The whistleblower said he was from the Dalit community, the lowest rung of the Hindu caste system, and worked at the Shri Manjunatha Temple from 1995 to 2014. 'What began as regular employment later turned into work of covering up evidence of extremely horrific crimes,' he alleged. 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They bore torn clothes, acid burns, and other injuries. In a particularly distressing case in 2010, the man said he was ordered to bury a girl he estimated was 12 to 15 years old. 'She was still wearing her school uniform shirt but other garments were missing. She had a school bag. Her body showed clear signs of sexual assault. There were strangulation marks on her neck,' the whistleblower said in his testimony. 'They instructed me to dig a pit and bury her along with her school bag. That scene remains disturbing to this day.' He also claimed that destitute men were murdered at Dharmasthala and similarly buried. The man alleges that he was a witness to these murders. According to the lawyer, the corpses were not buried in designated cemeteries but on open lands. 'These were not organised interments sanctioned by any authority but random burials, hidden and illegal,' he said. 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'So now, the court has half the picture. The other half is for police to take him to the site where the recovery was made. They have not done that either. This man was not wanted. There were no pending investigations against him. No one was even looking for these bodies. By not acting, police are sending a message to the world – that this man may be telling the truth.' In a statement issued on Sunday 20 July, the temple authorities said they support a 'fair and transparent' investigation. 'Truth and belief form the foundation of a society's ethics and values. We sincerely hope and strongly urge the SIT to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation and bring the true facts to light,' said K Parshwanath Jain, the official spokesperson for Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala. The whistleblower hasn't named any of the people he claims are responsible. He has sought protection from the court first, saying he will disclose more details once he and his family receive proper protection. 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The Independent
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2 hours ago
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In an interesting twist, Ms Brown had been grilled during that inquest by top Melbourne barrister Rishi Nathwani, KC, who acted for Aunty Donna Nelson at the time. On Tuesday, Mr Nathwani was now acting for Joshua Brown, arguing that his client's charge sheets be withheld from the media. During that hearing, Mr Nathwani revealed the case against Joshua Brown remained very much 'in flux'. An affidavit supplied by detectives to the court said the investigation was incomplete and needed more time to compile the final brief of evidence against Brown. 'Your honour has had the benefit of the affidavit which indicates that the police are working very hard,' Mr Nathwani said. Brown's co-accused, Michael Simon Wilson, 36, faces 45 charges ranging from rape to possession of child abuse material, transmission and production, as well as 'sexually penetrating an animal, namely a dog'. Doug Brown was named a junior coach in April The relationship between Wilson, who is not a childcare worker, and Brown remains unclear. Charge sheets indicated both men are facing charges that were allegedly committed on the same dates, including on April 28, 2022, when Brown allegedly committed multiple counts of producing child abuse material, and Wilson allegedly committed multiple counts of possessing and accessing child abuse material. Both men will reappear in court on separate dates, with Brown not due back until February next year.
