A man accused of murdering his 76-year-old mother at Woonona on Monday has appeared in Wollongong court.
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Boutros Mouawad was charged with murder on Tuesday night after the death of his mother, Hind Mouawad.
Emergency services were called to the Gray Street premises at 11pm where they found the unresponsive 76-year-old lying in the garden of a house.
Paramedics were unable to revive her.
Police questioned two men at Wollongong Police Station the following day.
Mouawad, 55, was subsequently charged with murder on Tuesday evening.
It's understood he lived at the house with his mother.
During a brief but bizarre court appearance on Wednesday, Mouawad refused the services of a Legal Aid lawyer and initially interacted with the magistrate himself to answer questions about the proceedings.
"Do you know why you're in custody?" Magistrate Michael Stoddart asked Mouawad, prompting him to reply "yes".
"You're on a charge of murder," Magistrate Stoddart continued.
"Yes," Mouawad replied.
"Do you want assistance from [Legal Aid duty lawyer] Ms Jowett?"
"No thank you."
Magistrate Stoddart set down a timeline for the brief of evidence to be served at the request of prosecutors, who said they would need time for a forensic analysis of some of the evidence.
However, when Magistrate Stoddart attempted to confirm the orders with Mouawad and ask if he was seeking bail, the 55-year-old refused to respond and remained silent throughout the remainder of the proceedings, even when further asked if he understood what was happening.
The case will return to court on May 15.