The son of the allegedly murdered Katherine Panin was controlling and hid the existence of his wife and sons from her for years, a murder trial jury has heard.
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On October 12, 2015, 82-year-old Mrs Panin was found dead at the bottom of the stairs at the Red Hill home she shared with her family.
Her daughter-in-law Melissa Beowulf, 61, and two grandsons Thorsten, 32, and Bjorn, 31, have been accused of her murder, a charge they have denied.
Mrs Panin's son Thorhammer Beowulf had died only a few months before her of pancreatic cancer but the ACT Supreme Court has heard their relationship was strained.
The court heard more details of the family's unconventional lifestyle on Friday after his defacto partner Dianne McGowan was called to give evidence.
Mr Beowulf, a talented bonsai artist, had for decades been living with his wife, the artist Mrs Beowulf and their four sons, as well as Dr McGowan and their son.
Dr McGowan said her relationship grew with Mr Beowulf after he gave her the miracle child she thought she was not able to have.
She said the relationship was never behind Mrs Beowulf's back, and that they would joke about having t-shirts made up telling anyone who saw them together that, "Yes, she knows".
One of the pluses of the boys having two mothers was the flexibility in caring for them, she said.
But Mr Beowulf was controlling, Dr McGowan told the jury.
When she finished her undergraduate studies she planned to enter the public service but Mr Beowulf floated the idea of starting an art gallery and having her run it.
She told the jury she put in months of work renovating the terrace they bought in Woollahra, leaving her son in the care of Mrs Beowulf in Canberra.
Dr McGowan spent so much time sanding she lost the pads of her fingers and couldn't bare water or sheets touching them for the pain.
She wasn't paid for the work, but if she ever wanted money she could always ask Mr Beowulf.
For a while, Dr McGowan lived with Mrs Panin in the Woollahra home and they shared a close bond.
Though the woman could be difficult and frustrating to live with she was also generous and caring, Dr McGowan said.
She said Mrs Panin's room in the terrace was strewn with her many clothes and possessions in boxes and bags and on racks, with a well-used ironing press on a desk.
But Dr McGowan said Mr Beowulf refused to buy his mother a wardrobe, despite Dr McGowan's begging and belief it would make the room much nicer.
Mr Beowulf had also hid the existence of his wife Mrs Beowulf and their sons from Mrs Panin, only telling her she had grandchildren when they were already grown, she said.
"He was adamant that was she not to know," she said. "I can't explain his motive, they were just the rules."
Dr McGowan also said Mrs Panin did not like Mrs Beowulf.
By the time of Mrs Panin's death the family was in financial crisis and selling the Woollahra terrace.
The day she died was the day she was supposed to move into a new retirement unit at The Grange in Deakin, paid for with cash from the sale of the Woollahra terrace.
But prosecutors contend instead Mrs Beowulf and her two sons murdered the family matriarch for her money.
The trial continues.
