A young woman accused of killing her mother in their family home in Dunlop last year has been committed to stand trial in the ACT Supreme Court.
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Norma Cheryl Woutersz, 56, was found dead in the Dunlop backyard in October, her hands and feet bound with rope.
She had suffered significant head injuries, and dirt had been removed from a garden box near where she lay.
Her daughter Gabrielle Woutersz, 23, who had only recently returned to Canberra from interstate, was charged with the murder.
She was at home when her father returned from work on the day of the killing, finding her wearing only her underwear.
According to court documents, he asked:
"What's wrong?"
The accused replied "nothing".
The father walked around the house, and discovered his wife dead in the backyard, lying face down on a ladder.
A shovel, pitch fork, and broom were found nearby, while a sledge hammer and wide nose hoe were three metres away, police said.
He went back to his daughter and asked "what have you done?", before calling family members for help.
Police attended the home and arrested the accused, who was then brought before the ACT Magistrates Court.
She was sent for mental health assessments at the Canberra Hospital, and has since been returned to the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
Woutersz, who has pleaded not guilty, appeared before Magistrate Karen Fryar on Tuesday, represented by barrister Bernard Collaery.
She was committed to stand trial in the ACT Supreme Court, and will make her first appearance in the higher court later this month.