A judge has ordered the release from custody of two Sydney brothers accused of grossly neglecting their ailing mother, who developed infected bedsores while in her urine-soaked bed.
Justice Des Fagan ordered their release and dispensed with bail after hearing final submissions at their judge-alone manslaughter trial in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.
He said he would deliver his verdicts and reasons next Friday.
Australian Federal Police diplomatic protection officer Phillip Thompson, 43, and his brother, David Thompson, 40, have pleaded not guilty to their mother's manslaughter.
Shirley Thompson, 72, died in Blacktown Hospital in early September 2017.
Ten days prior to her death, on August 23, the younger brother called an ambulance saying his bedridden mother couldn't eat and had a wound on her backside.
Paramedics found the dehydrated and malnourished woman had developed infected bedsores in her urine-soaked bed in a house they described as filthy and disgusting.
The prosecution alleges the men were grossly negligent, having been aware in the preceding month of her deteriorating condition - including bedsores and the significant wound - and the need for medical attention.
But the defence contended the mother consistently refused any medical help and made her own decisions about her lifestyle including what, if and when she ate.
In his police interview, Phillip Thompson repeatedly said he and his brother looked after her to the best of their abilities, while stressing they were not medical professionals.
Australian Associated Press
