A Sydney doctor murdered his wife by injecting her in the buttock with a lethal dose of fast-acting insulin so he could be with his lover, a judge has been told.
Brian Kenneth Crickitt, 63, has pleaded not guilty in the NSW Supreme Court to murdering Christine Crickitt, 58, inside their Woodbine home in Sydney's southwest, late on New Year's Eve or early on New Year's Day in 2010.
In the crown's opening address today, prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC said Crickitt was motivated to murder his wife so he could claim her life insurance and have a future with his lover.
Ms Crickett was not a diabetic and, shortly before her death on December 30, her husband carried out Google searches on insulin overdoses, Mr Tedeschi said.
On December 31 at his Campbelltown medical practice, he saw a diabetic patient and allegedly later used a prescription he wrote for her to obtain fast-acting insulin from a local pharmacy.
Crickett was in "an intensely emotional relationship" with Linda Livermore whom he met when she was running meditation classes.
"The accused had raised with Linda Livermore the possibility of them getting married," he said.
"She responded positively to this suggestion."
The crown alleged Crickett either forcibly administered the syringe of insulin or lied to his wife about some medication and she agreed thinking it was a drug she legitimately needed.
After administering the insulin, he remained in the house until she was dead, in a coma or semi-conscious and then spent the rest of the night at Ms Livermore's home, Mr Tedeschi said.
He was also seen holding hands with Ms Livermore when he went to the morgue to see his wife's body, he added.
An autopsy was unable to ascertain any cause of death.
Tim Gartelmann, SC, for Crickett, said the defence case was that insulin did not cause her death and there was no evidence the drug was involved in the death at all.
The judge-alone trial is continuing.