A WOMAN accused of attacking her mother with a knife and hammer at Lake Macquarie in February has had her charges upgraded after the 71-year-old died following surgery nearly three months later.
Sarah Louise Leigh Morrison, 39, was charged with wounding with intent to murder, breaching an apprehended domestic violence order and stealing a car after she allegedly attacked her mother, Pamela Morrison, in Charles Street at Blackalls Park on February 1.
Sarah Morrison allegedly fled in the stolen car, crashed and abandoned the vehicle in Fassifern Road and was later found hiding in nearby bushland.
She was charged and refused bail, court documents revealing the alleged attack in February was the third time in five months that she had been arrested for domestic violence offences relating to her mother.
But the Newcastle Herald can reveal that Sarah Morrison has since had her charges upgraded to murder after detectives were told her mother had died in hospital on April 25, nearly three months after the alleged attack.
It's understood Pamela had initially been taken to John Hunter Hospital in a serious condition.
But she had been discharged and returned home before going back into hospital in April to undergo surgery for injuries suffered during the alleged attack.
It's understood Pamela died after complications from surgery and detectives made the decision to charge her daughter with murder, alleging the attack remained a significant contributing cause of her death.
Sarah Morrison remains behind bars and will next appear in Newcastle Local Court in August.
According to court documents, Sarah Morrison is accused of assaulting her mother at Blackalls Park in September last year.
She was charged with common assault and intimidation and granted bail, while police applied for an interim apprehended domestic violence order to protect her mother.
But police allege Sarah Morrison breached the order about a month later and she was charged again.
She was granted bail, but is accused of breaching the order again on the afternoon of February 1 when she stole a Subaru Forester from a house at Narara Street at Fassifern and went to her mother's house at Blackalls Park.
Police say she allegedly attacked the 71-year-old with a hammer and knife before fleeing in the stolen car.
Pamela was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to John Hunter Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Police established a crime scene and began searching the area, finding the stolen vehicle crashed and abandoned in nearby Fassifern Road.
Sarah Morrison was arrested after a search of nearby bushland and was taken to Toronto police station and charged.
She remained behind bars while detectives were compiling a brief of evidence, until police got the call on April 28 that Pamela had died three days earlier and made the decision to charge her daughter with murder.
