A woman charged with the bashing murder of teenager Jason Galleghan in Sydney will undergo a psychiatric check before she is allowed to plead guilty to the shocking crime.
Kayla Dawson, 22, and Richard Sione, 34, pleaded not guilty to murder as a judge-alone trial started in the New South Wales Supreme Court on February 19.
Today, 10 days after the trial began, Dawson’s barrister Paul Johnson said his client wanted to reverse her plea.
“I’m still being advised by my client today she wants to plead guilty,” he told acting Justice Robert Hulme.
However, the plea will not be formally entered until after Dawson undergoes an assessment by forensic psychiatrist Adam Martin, who has been retained by crown prosecutors in the case.
“I won’t presume if she’s fit, she’s able to make that decision (to plead guilty),” Johnson said.
“And if she’s not, we’ll take another course.”
Jason was bashed to death by a group largely made up of teenagers at a western Sydney property in August 2021.
As the trial opened in February, the court heard an “upset and crying” Dawson told the group the 16-year-old had stolen her AirPods, to which Sione replied “bring him over and we’ll talk to him”.
When Jason arrived at the home, Sione allegedly told him to go to the bedroom and began assaulting him.
The trial has not been without its mishaps after a crown witness refused to show up and a bench warrant was put out for his arrest.
Sione has maintained his pleas of not guilty to murder and an alternative charge of detaining Jason without consent for the “psychological satisfaction of assaulting and humiliating” him.
His trial is ongoing with senior crime scene officer Paul Weldon called to give evidence about his examination of the western Sydney home today.
Dawson and her lawyers will return to the court on Monday after her psychiatric assessment is complete.
