A woman who allegedly kidnapped a 97-year-old from a Melbourne nursing home this year was under the belief it was her own mother, whose death she believed had been faked, a court has heard.
Irene Moschones, 52, was committed to stand trial on Thursday after escorting Dimitra Pavlopoulou from Clarinda Manor, in the city's south-east, on January 6.
The elderly woman, who was suffering from dementia, was missing for more than six hours before she was found at Ms Moschones' Cheltenham home.
She died six weeks later.
Ms Moschones — who pleaded not guilty — is facing three charges, including kidnapping.
There is no evidence the pair had previously met.
At a committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court, the court heard Ms Moschones was convinced Ms Pavlopoulou was her mother, and that relatives had faked the death of her own mother years earlier.
Police found the 97-year-old at Ms Moschones' home after being alerted by the ex-husband of the accused.
Social worker Dorothy Lockhart told the court that when she arrived at the house, she asked Ms Moschones if she had permission to have Ms Pavlopoulou at her home.
Ms Moschones replied that she did, but refused to tell Ms Lockhart the name of the nursing home where she lived so she could ring and confirm.
Ms Lockhart then told Ms Moschones she would have to call the police.
"She said I should go ahead, as 'the police knew all about my mother'," Ms Lockhart told the court.
Symptoms of a psychiatric illness
Detective Senior Constable Matt Lacey told the court the accused was quite coherent and easy to talk to when he arrived at the house.
"Apart from the fact that she believed that [Ms Pavlopoulou] was her mum," he said.
Doctor Vicki Kim, who assessed Ms Moschones after she was taken into custody, said she had the symptoms of a psychiatric illness, and was paranoid about a group of relatives having faked her mother's death.
Dr Kim said Ms Moschones was having fixed delusions around Ms Pavlopoulou.
In a statement tendered to the court, Ms Moschones' ex-husband said she had been unwilling to accept her mother's death.
He said Ms Moschones had taken him to a nursing home not long after her mother had died a few years earlier and introduced him to another elderly woman she believed was her mother.
The court heard Ms Pavlopoulou spoke only a few words in English and communicated in Greek, often through her family.
Her dementia had worsened in the two years before she was allegedly kidnapped, and she sometimes did not recognise family members.
Defence lawyer Stephanie Joosten told Magistrate Belinda Wallington the charge of statutory kidnap should be thrown out, as the accused may have believed Ms Pavlopoulou was consenting to being taken.
However, Magistrate Wallington said that would be for a jury to decide.
Ms Moschones will face a trial in the County Court at a later date.
