A man accused of beating his elderly mother to death with a flower pot then pawned her possessions to buy heroin, a jury was told.
David Andrew Mapp is accused of murdering his mother Coleen Wilson, 82, in Tumbi Umbi on the New South Wales Central Coast on July 28, 2022.
He admits to killing his mother with a flowerpot, but will argue that he did so in the midst of a severe anxiety disorder and heroin withdrawal without intending to kill her.
It will not be argued during a NSW Supreme Court trial that Mapp pawned his mother’s property to buy heroin after her death, a jury heard on Tuesday.
The 59-year-old claims he accidentally killed his mother during a heated argument and made efforts to revive her after the attack, the court was told.
Crown prosecutor Carl Young said CCTV captured Mapp pawning a television and a hedge trimmer in the hours after Wilson’s death, and he received $200 cash for the items.
Mapp allegedly argued with his mother at some point that morning before killing her.
“Mr Mapp left the house, retrieved a flower pot that was outside the house, entered and attacked the deceased with it on the back of the head,” Mr Young said.
David Andrew Mapp (pictured left) is accused of murdering his mother Coleen Wilson, 82, in Tumbi Umbi on the New South Wales Central Coast on July 28, 2022.
“As a result of the plant hitting Ms Wilson in the back of the head, she fell to the ground.”
Prosecutors also allege that Mapp put pressure on his mother’s neck while she was on the ground, which was disputed by the defense.
Her lawyer, Sarah Talbert, said Mapp had used heroin since she was 16 and relied on her mother for support, leaving her feeling “angry, frustrated and fed up.”
“Although David Mapp accepts that his deliberate act – that is, throwing the potted plant – caused his mother’s death, he does not accept that when he carried out that act, he did so with the intention of killing her,” Ms Talbert said.
He said he was suffering from heroin withdrawal and that expert psychiatric evidence was expected to be presented during the trial showing Mapp had severe generalized anxiety disorder at the time of his mother’s death.
He admits to killing his mother with a flowerpot, but will argue that he did so in the midst of a severe anxiety disorder and heroin withdrawal without intending to kill her. the house is in the photo
That condition would have affected his ability to control himself and make accurate judgments.
“The defense maintains that Mr. Mapp, in that context, threw the potted plant at his mother and she hit him on the head, causing his death,” Ms. Talbert said.
Shortly after five p.m. on the day of the death, Mapp called Triple Zero to report a dead body, saying he and his mother had had a “bad argument.”
“Things got pretty bad and, um, yeah,” he said during the call. “We had an argument between mom and I and she, well, fell.”
Mapp told the operator that his mother had been chasing him around the house with a knife and that he had thrown the flower pot at her.
The 59-year-old man also claimed he had been attempting CPR all day in hopes of reviving his mother, Young said.
The trial continues.
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