Gold Coast mother Maree Crabtree faces court accused of killing children by drugging them for financial gain

A Gold Coast woman accused of killing two of her children and forcing them to take prescription medications for several years for financial gain told “a lot of lies”, was “very controlling” and also allegedly drugged one of her son’s girlfriends, a court has heard.

Maree Crabtree was charged in 2018 over the murders of her son Jonathan Crabtree, 26, in 2017, and her daughter Erin, 18, in 2012.

Both deaths were initially considered suicides.

Crabtree was also charged with torturing and attempting to…