A Queensland woman who administered a lethal cocktail of medications to her terminally ill husband has been granted bail after being charged with murder. Kylie Ellina Truswell-Mobbs, 51, appeared before Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday, where Justice Paul Smith approved her release on bail. She had been in custody for over 12 months following the death of her husband, David Ronald Mobbs, a 56-year-old former firefighter, at their home in Alexandra Hills, south-east of Brisbane, in December 2023.
Background of the case
David Mobbs was diagnosed with an aggressive form of motor neurone disease in April 2023. The condition rapidly deteriorated his once-strong body, leaving him entirely bedridden within months. By December, he could no longer speak and communicated only by blinking, making noises, or using a letter board when someone lifted his hand. The court heard that Mobbs had expressed a desire to end his life if the disease became intolerable, specifically if he reached the point of needing nappies, which he considered humiliating.
Legal proceedings
Truswell-Mobbs admitted to police that she injected a cocktail of medications into her husband's feeding tube to help end his life. She was initially denied bail in April 2025, but Justice Smith found a material change in circumstances after a committal hearing in February presented evidence favourable to her. The judge noted that there was now a greater chance she could be acquitted of all charges or found guilty of lesser charges such as manslaughter or assisted suicide.
Justice Smith remarked: "In this case it might be argued that although the applicant administered the medications, she was of two minds about whether she wanted David to die or not. Because on the one hand she loved him and wanted him to live and on the other she didn't want him to suffer." He also highlighted her exemplary character and lack of prior convictions, noting a very low flight risk.
Bail conditions
As part of her bail conditions, Truswell-Mobbs is prohibited from living with or discussing evidence with her sons, who are expected to be witnesses at her trial. She is also barred from contacting witnesses. The court heard that Mobbs' family had been informed by a palliative care team hours before the alleged murder that his feeding tubes could be withdrawn and pain managed to allow a natural death over days or weeks. The team also noted that applying for voluntary assisted dying would take at least nine days.
Truswell-Mobbs is due to face trial in Brisbane Supreme Court at a date to be fixed.
