A South Australian woman accused of murdering her elderly parents by administering fatal doses of insulin allegedly once described the medication as the “perfect murder weapon”, a court has heard.
Raelene Polymiadis, 65, has pleaded not guilty in the South Australian Supreme Court to the murders of her parents, Brenda and Lynton Anderson, who were both aged 94 when they died about a year apart.
Opening the prosecution case, prosecutor Michael Foundas told the jury that Polymiadis deliberately used her own insulin to end her parents’ lives, cutting short what he described as their “precious time” together.
The court heard that both Brenda and Lynton Anderson were living independently in their home at Hackham in Adelaide’s south and were strongly opposed to moving into residential aged care.
The prosecution alleged a possible motive was that Polymiadis believed she was sparing her parents from the prospect of entering a nursing home.
Brenda Anderson’s health deteriorated after she suffered a fall in February 2022, resulting in a fractured vertebra. Her recovery was further complicated by pneumonia and another fall while she was in hospital.
Although she showed signs of improvement, concerns grew that she may require residential aged care after leaving hospital.
The court heard Polymiadis visited her mother at Noarlunga Hospital on March 12, 2022. Shortly afterwards, nursing staff found Brenda Anderson largely unresponsive due to severe hypoglycaemia, a condition caused by dangerously low blood sugar levels.
She was transferred to Flinders Medical Centre, where her condition continued to worsen. Doctors commenced end-of-life care on March 16, and she died later that day.
The prosecution alleges Polymiadis administered insulin to her mother on two occasions during her final days in hospital and that insulin toxicity caused her death.
The court also heard that many years earlier, Polymiadis had allegedly told a former partner that insulin was the “perfect murder weapon” because it was a substance naturally present in the body and difficult to detect.
Following his wife’s death, Lynton Anderson remained living at home but became increasingly frail. His four children organised a roster to stay overnight and assist with his care.
The court heard Polymiadis spent the weekend with her father before leaving his home on April 30, 2023. About two hours later, a carer discovered him unconscious on the kitchen floor.
Lynton Anderson was treated for hypoglycaemia but died the following day. A post-mortem examination concluded he died from insulin toxicity.
The prosecution told the jury that Polymiadis was the only one of her siblings with diabetes and that neither of her parents had the condition or required insulin treatment.
Investigators later questioned Polymiadis about whether she had assisted her parents to end their lives by providing insulin. The court heard she denied those allegations and also strongly denied murdering either parent.
Police also found that, the day before her father became critically ill, Polymiadis had searched online for information about the sedative oxazepam. Toxicology testing later detected the drug in Lynton Anderson’s bloodstream.
The trial, which is expected to run for approximately 12 weeks before Justice Sandi McDonald and a jury, will hear evidence from family members, medical specialists, police investigators and hospital staff.
As the matter remains before the court, the allegations against Polymiadis have not been proven and she is presumed innocent unless found guilty.
