The sister of a man who bludgeoned their elderly mother to death with a plank of wood in the backyard of a Woonona home has told a court her family has been "ripped apart" by his senseless crime.
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Boutros Mouawad had been arguing with his 72-year-old mother Helen Mouawad about her gambling addiction on the evening of February 18 last year when he picked up a large piece of wood and hit her multiple times in the head and face.
Unaware whether she was alive or dead, Mouawad then wrapped her head in a plastic bag in a bid to stop the blood from spreading.
He left her body in the garden and headed to the Bulli-Woonona RSL just before 7pm. He returned home about 9.30pm and again hit his mother in the head with the piece of wood, later revealing he thought she was dead "but wanted to make sure....to shut her up so she couldn't say anything anymore and bother him for the rest of his life".
Mouawad moved his mother's body to the base of a set of steps in the backyard and turned the hose on her to wash away the blood.
He removed the now blood-stained plastic bag from around her head, put it in the boot of his car and returned to the RSL just before 10pm, dumping the bag in a nearby bin.
He returned home 90 minutes later, again hosed down his mother's body, then called triple zero, telling the operator "my mum's unconscious, she fell over...on her head".
Paramedics arrived less than 10 minutes later but Mrs Mouawad was dead. When questioned by police, Mouawad maintained his story that his mother had fallen over or been assaulted by someone else.
However, he later sent letters to family members saying "I can't believe God allowed me to do such an evil and cowardly thing.....I honestly didn't want to hurt her or anybody else. After a few days I realised what I did. I obviously took mum's life, and ruined all the family".
Boutros was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter in a plea deal after prosecutors accepted that Mouawad's capacity to control himself that night had been severely diminished by his bipolar disorder.
During a sentencing hearing in Wollongong District Court on Wednesday, Mary Mouawad described her mother as a "decent and caring person....who loved nothing more than spending time for her family".
She said her brother had shown "no respect" for their mother's life and she would forever be haunted by not knowing why he had killed her.
"It was a senseless crime, a crime that made us as humans no longer the same," she said.
"If there is a God....I hope and pray justice will be served. Rest in peace, Mum."
Meanwhile, Helen's granddaughter Ella Mouawad also spoke about her grief at losing her beloved "Taita" (the word for grandmother in Arabic), revealing she still struggled to come to terms with what had happened.
"I still can't begin to fathom this event," she said.
"We as a family went through this with no clarity, no voice, no escape.
"You took my Taita away....you will never come close to being in my life again."
Judge Chris O'Brien will sentence Mouawad next month.