Woman Searched Internet On Ways To Commit Murder Before Boyfriend's Death

A woman in New South Wales accused of poisoning her boyfriend allegedly conducted hundreds of searches on “how to commit murder”. Natasha Beth Darcy, 46, pleaded not guilty to the murder of her 42-year-old partner Matthew John Dunbar in August 2017.

The Supreme Court jury was presented with evidence showing Darcy had carried out online searches that ranged from poisonous plants as well as other cocktails for a lethal injection.

Dunbar was found dead in the early hours of the morning in his bed with a plastic bag over his head where a tube was inserted that connects to a gas cylinder.

Darcy lodged a call to the Triple-Zero operator saying she found her farmer partner dead and hooked up to a tank of helium.

Coincidentally, the first paramedic to arrive on the scene was Darcy’s estranged husband, Colin Crossman. According to prosecution, he had received a text message from Dunbar’s phone which they allege was written and sent by Darcy.

The message, which reads, "tell police to come to the house, I don't want Tash or the kids to find me" was sent at 1:14am on August 2, 2017.

Court documents state that after the couple had dinner, Darcy allegedly used a Nutribullet to blend a concoction of sedatives into a drink she gave to her partner in a tumbler. After which, she placed the plastic bag over his head and connected it to the gas cylinder the couple had bought in Tamworth earlier that day.

Darcy’s barrister Janet Manuel revealed that Dunbar had a host of physical and mental health problems. He was suffering from depression after suicidal death of a very close friend in 2017. Dunbar was said to have had tried to commit suicide in June 2017, and was admitted into a psychiatric unit.

The accused suggested that Dunbar may have done the internet searches himself which included topics like poisonous spiders and mushrooms, toxic plants, suicide methods, how to commit murder, 11 toxic wild plants that look like food, 99 undetectable poisons, plastic bag suffocation, “will helium show up in an autopsy”, “can police see websites you visit on your mobile”.

At this point the Crown court would rely on evidence from Darcy’s ex-husband to “prove a number of tendencies on behalf of the accused to act in a particular way”.

At some point in their marriage, Darcy had admitted to hitting Crossman in the head with a hammer when he was sleeping, after which she previously said the culprit was an intruder. In another incident, she gave him a meal of tacos before setting the bedroom on fire while Crossman was asleep. He was found to have sedatives in his system, despite not having taken any such medications.

In her police interviews, Darcy denied any involvement in Dunbar's death, but said she knew he intended to kill himself or was making plans to die. During her defense statement in court she said she planned and assisted Dunbar to commit suicide. Dunbar did not leave a suicide note and proscutors said Darcy “exploited” Dunbar's depression to make his murder look like suicide, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The prosecutor contended that Darcy's main motive was driven by the fact that she was bound to be the sole beneficiary of Dunbar’s $3.5 million Merino property, 9News Australia wrote.

The trial continues and is expected to run for up to eight weeks.