A woman accused of murdering her mother in Dunlop last month is back in prison after more than two weeks of assessments in a psychiatric unit.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Gabriela Woutersz, 23, is accused of murdering Norma Cheryl Woutersz, 56, at the family home in Dexion Place last month.
She was arrested on the evening of the killing, and sent for mental health checks at the Canberra Hospital the next morning.
Woutersz came back to court on October 21, but the treating doctor asked for more time to assess her psychiatric condition.
The young woman has been in the psychiatric unit since, only returning to the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The mental health checks are now complete and Woutersz has been transferred back to the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
Woutersz is expected to remain behind bars for the next three months, until her next court appearance in mid-February.
The court heard on Thursday that the brief of evidence to be used against the young woman was likely to be ready by that date.
The daughter has pleaded not guilty to the killing, and is being represented by Legal Aid.
She made no application for bail before Magistrate Karen Fryar on Thursday.
Few details have emerged about the murder of Cheryl Woutersz, who was well-known in the community for her childcare work.
Her husband Keith Woutersz last month remembered his partner as a "loving, caring, dedicated wife", who will be sorely missed by family and friends.
"She was a generous-hearted woman, who was a surrogate parent to the mothers who would bring their children to her to look after," he said in a statement.
She founded a Montessori childcare centre in Gordon, and worked with children for decades.
Despite the mental health checks, no issues with Woutersz' fitness to plead were raised in court last month.
The court has previously heard she suffers from bipolar disorder.
Woutersz is also facing an assault charge, dated after she was taken into custody, and a number of traffic offences.
Woutersz has not made a single bid for release in her three court appearances.
She will reappear on February 17.
