
A Supreme Court jury has retired to consider its verdict in the trial of Natalie Maher.Ms Maher, 48, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of her mother Veronica Corstorphine at Keane Street West at South Launceston on October 3, 2019.
The Crown alleges Ms Maher smothered her mother with a pillow and then fled to Western Australia.
The defence has suggested that Ms Corstorphine may have died by suicide, natural causes or at the hands of an unknown intruder.
The trial has been underway for four weeks and heard from 50 witnesses and involved 60 exhibits.
Justice Robert Pearce summed up the case on Friday giving the jury directions on the law and factual elements.
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Justice Pearce said that a guilty verdict would require unanimous agreement of the six-man and six-woman jury.
After six hours he said a majority, 10 or more, could return a verdict of not guilty of murder or guilty of manslaughter.
The circumstantial case relied on forensic evidence, telephone records, computer search results, flight information, bank records and the alleged post offence conduct of Ms Maher.
Justice Pearce said the Crown did not need to prove a motive or an exact time of death.
He said the Crown case was that Ms Maher's motive was ill will towards her mother and that she was motivated by financial gain.
Justice Pearce said the Crown case was that Ms Maher's conduct after the alleged murder was done out of a consciousness of guilt.
Ms Maher had booked airline tickets using her mother's credit card, transferred $12,000 to her bank account, removed a $5000 brooch, gold cross and jewellery, and took her mother's mobile phone to Western Australia.
He said the Crown asserted that Ms Maher lied to police in an interview about the phone because to have done otherwise would have revealed her guilt.
He said the defence had argued that if she had taken the phone to monitor her mother's communications she did not do a very good job.
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