A 79-year-old woman allegedly pushed her 80-year-old husband into their backyard swimming pool while he had weights tied to his waist because he wanted to end his life, a Perth court has been told.
Hazel Margaret Spenceley is defending a manslaughter charge in the WA Supreme Court over her husband Peter's death in the suburb of Warwick in December 2016.
It is alleged Ms Spenceley pushed her husband into the pool knowing he could not swim.
Mr Spenceley had a bag containing weights tied to his waist when he entered the water.
Mr Spenceley 'wanted to end his life'
The court was told Mr Spenceley wanted to die because of problems he was having with his son.
Prosecutor Simon Freitag SC said the evidence would show Mr Spenceley "wanted to end his life [but] could not take that final step himself".
But Mrs Spenceley's lawyer, Justine Fisher, told the court her client did not push her husband into the pool.
Ms Fisher said while Mr Spenceley was not a strong swimmer, he was able to move around the pool safely.
She said he regularly played 18 holes of golf, but after his death was found to have an enlarged heart and evidence of heart disease.
Ms Fisher told the court her client and the deceased had been married for 57 years and were scheduled to go on an Indonesian islands cruise on December 21 — the day after the drowning.
She told the court Mrs Spenceley did not intend for her husband to die, and her actions "were not the cause of Mr Spenceley's death".
The trial before Justice Joseph McGrath is set down for seven days.
