‘Relative’ arrested over couple’s alleged murder
A family member has been arrested over the murder of an elderly couple who were allegedly poisoned a year apart.
South Australia Police confirmed on Tuesday that a 62-year-old woman from the Adelaide suburb of Craigmore will be charged with two counts of murder.
SA Police will allege Adelaide couple, Brenda and Lynton Anderson, both died from drug overdoses aged 94 after being deliberately administered medication.
Mrs Anderson died while she was being treated at Noarlunga Hospital on March 12, 2022, and her husband died more than a year later at his home in Adelaide’s south suburb of Hackham on May 1, 2023.
The woman is expected to be charged on Tuesday afternoon and will be refused bail.
She is expected to appear at the Adelaide Magistrates Court on either Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday.
On Friday, police said they would investigate whether the couple was poisoned after noting abnormalities on their toxicology reports. Authorities had already ruled out intervention from hospital or external carers involved with the couple.
Mrs Anderson died on March 16, 2022 after she was taken to hospital for the treatment of an undisclosed medical issue, while Mr Anderson died at Flinders Medical Centre on May 1 2023, after he was found unconscious by his carer the day prior.
Detective Inspector Mark McEachern said Ms Anderson was allegedly poisoned while she was in hospital, most likely four days before her death on March 12 when she was “found to be in a very poor state of health”.
He said police noted “suspicious” levels on a toxicology report and the “type of medications that were in both people”.
“When an innocent explanation for toxicology abnormalities was eliminated, the possibility (of) Ms Anderson’s death being a deliberate act by another party became the primary subject of the investigation,” Inspector McEachern said.
“It is believed Mrs Anderson was killed by a person known to her and in close enough relationship to have been visiting her while she was in hospital.”
