A Sydney man accused of drowning his estranged partner's disabled son attempted to convince her to move back in with him because it would be "mean" to stay in the house where he died, a jury has been told.
Charlie Younes, 45, has pleaded not guilty in the NSW Supreme Court to the murder of Steven Copo Horton in October 2013.
The 18-year-old drowned in a bathtub in his mother's Emerton house in western Sydney on October 28, just over a week after Rebecca Horton had moved out of Younes' home.
Ms Horton had moved Steven and her other children out of Younes' residence on October 17, following the breakdown of their 16-year relationship.
Steven's body was discovered by Younes about 2am, despite his ex-partner not knowing how he got in.
Ms Horton says following her son's death, Younes repeatedly asked her to move back into his Marayong home, which they previously shared.
"He kept bringing his belongings from the other house to move into the house. I kept telling him no and put them back outside," Ms Horton told the court on Wednesday.
"Then he asked for us to go back to the other house at Marayong.
"He said I was being mean to the other children by staying in the house where Steven died."
She said Younes would repeatedly come around to her house "every day" and she had to "get rid of him".
Younes' teenage daughter, who was aged 12 in 2013, told the court that on the day prior to Steven's death, her father had been at the house and was pestering his ex-partner to let him stay.
"She told him to leave and he didn't want to... He just wanted to stay there," she said before adding he eventually departed, only to show up at the house in the early hours of the morning.
The Crown alleges Younes used his hands to drown Steven, who was born with Angelman syndrome, had severe intellectual and physical disabilities and was incapable of walking and talking.
Steven also had epilepsy and had suffered seizures since he was 18 months old.
Crown prosecutor Rohan Cooley previously told the the jury Younes gave three versions of events - the last being that he knocked on the front door as he didn't have a key, but couldn't alert anyone to let him in.
Ms Horton told the court she was awoken about 2am to Younes in her bathroom yelling out "Bec, Bec" and calling for help before discovering her son unconscious in the bath.
Defence barrister Leah Rowan read from a 2014 police interview in which Ms Horton described her client as a "caring" father.
The couple had three children together before their relationship broke down.
"He treated Steven like his own. He was loving and caring," Ms Horton said during the police interview.
The trial before Acting Justice Peter Hidden continues.
Australian Associated Press
