A woman accused of spiking her husband’s dinner with 75 sleeping pills before injecting him with poison has had her case thrown out of court.
Joanne Debono, 55, and her daughter Shannon, 20, reportedly flashed broad smiles as prosecutors dropped attempted murder charges against the duo on Tuesday.
The pair had been accused of plotting to kill Stephen Debono – Joanne’s husband and Shannon’s father – at their Gowanbrae home in Melbourne’s north-west last year.
Joanne Debono (right), 55, and her daughter Shannon (left), 20, had been accused of plotting to kill Stephen Debono – Joanne’s husband and Shannon’s father
Police alleged Mrs Debono crushed up temzaepam tablets and mixed them with her husband’s meatball dinner, before watching him devour his favourite meal.
It was alleged she planned to beat Mr Debono with a shovel after he fell asleep, but couldn’t bring herself to do it, according to reports.
Instead, she mixed brake fluid, metal lubricant and weed killer and filled a hyperamic needle, police said.
She then allegedly injected Mr DeBono with two millilitres of the cocktail before he woke up and asked what she was doing.
Mrs Debono is pictured covering her face with a scarf behind her daughter at a previous court appearance
Fearing for their safety, Mrs DeBono and her daughter, then 19, allegedly fled the house and handed themselves into police.
Mrs DeBono and her husband had been together for 25 years, during which time she said she was subjected to continual physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
On Tuesday, the mother and daughter duo embraced before hugging their lawyers outside the court, according to The Age.
It is not known why prosecutors dropped the charges.
The Office of Public Prosecutions declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
It was alleged Mrs DeBono crushed up temzaepam tablets and mixed them with her husband’s meatball dinner (stock image)