Maree Crabtree’s ex-partner reveals how they met in NSW

A former boyfriend of the mother accused of murdering her two disabled children has revealed their relationship blossomed after the pair met through a newspaper advert.  

But the divorced man from the Hunter Region in New South Wales said things soon turned sour and claimed accused killer Maree Crabtree ‘was only in it for the money.’ 

The man, who didn’t want to be name, posted an ad in the classifieds section of a Sydney newspaper and Crabtree responded, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.  

Crabtree has been charged with the murders of her two impaired adult children – Erin, 18,(left) and Jonathan, 26 (right) 

The loved-up pair shared this home (pictured) after meeting through a paper advertisement

‘At the start she was brilliant – just great. Everything was hunky dory, as they say,’ the former partner told the publication

The relationship moved fast as Crabtree, who has been charged with the murders of her two impaired adult children – Erin, 18, and Jonathan, 26 – moved in with her new beau after one week.

‘At the start she was brilliant – just great. Everything was hunky dory, as they say,’ the former partner told the publication.  

Crabtree, now 51, met her five-year long lover in the early 2000s but reportedly forced her ex-partner to stop seeing his parents and siblings.

The loved-up pair moved from Muswellbrook to McCully’s Gap, three hours north of Sydney, but disputes over money and land quickly arose where Crabtree forced her partner to leave the job he had been at for 28 years.

‘The rumour around was that she was just in it [the relationship] for the money,’ a school friend of Jonathan’s told News Corp. 

The ex-partner said the pair argued about money and the house, encouraging him to sell the property in the picturesque countryside of NSW. 

The loved-up pair moved from Muswellbrook to McCully’s Gap, three hours north of Sydney

The ex-partner said the pair argued about money and the house, encouraging him to sell the property in the picturesque countryside of NSW (pictured)

‘The rumour around was that she was just in it [the relationship] for the money,’ a school friend of Jonathan’s (pictured) told News Corp

‘We parted ways, I didn’t know where she went,’ he said.

Crabtree was last week charged for the murders of her two children who allegedly died in 2012 and 2017. 

The mother was charged with several fraud offences, as police claim she killed her children for insurance payouts.

Court documents show she allegedly dishonestly received an insurance payout of $567,863, a total permanent disability claim for $238,800 and had attempted to fraudulently obtain a superannuation death benefit of $125,000. 

She is also charged with armed robbery over allegedly forcing Jonathan to hold up a chemist in 2015.

Detective Inspector Mark Thompson said police alleged the murders were pre-meditated and financially motivated. 

Crabtree was remanded in custody and her matter is set to return to court on February 12.  

Crabtree was last week charged for the murders of her two children who allegedly died in 2012 and 2017 (Jonathan pictured)