Suspect revealed in double murder of elderly couple
<p>A 62-year-old woman from Adelaide has had official charges laid against her by South Australian police over the alleged double murder of her elderly parents – Brenda and Lynton Anderson – who police believe were <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/double-murder-investigation-launched-into-elderly-couple-who-died-a-year-apart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deliberately poisoned a year apart</a>.</p>
<p>After initially concealing the identity of the suspect, detectives – who had been treating the deaths of Andersons, both aged 94, as a double murder – described their main person of interest as someone who was <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">"known and close to both of them." </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">At the time, Detective Inspector Mark McEachern told reporters that </span>suspicions had arisen due to similarities and irregularities found in the toxicology reports of the deceased Andersons.</p>
<p>It was determined that the presence of certain medications in their systems was unexplained and raised concerns. "There was no reason for the medication to have been in their system and that's raised concerns in respect of both deaths," McEachern said.</p>
<p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">"Mrs Anderson's hospital death was identified during the coronial investigation process after toxicology results gave significant rise for concern. </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">When an innocent explanation for toxicology abnormalities was eliminated, the possibility Mrs Anderson's death being a deliberate act by another party became the primary subject of the investigation.</span></p>
<p>"It is believed Mrs Anderson was killed by a person known to her and in close enough relationship to have been visiting her while she was in hospital."</p>
<p>In the case of Lynton Anderson, he was discovered unconscious at his residence in Hackham by a caregiver on April 30. He was immediately transported to Flinders Medical Centre by SA Ambulance but succumbed to his condition the following day. Detectives then became suspicious of his toxicology results after closely analysing Brenda's case. </p>
<p>After ruling out any of the carers who looked after the Andersons during their time in hospital, SA p<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">olice have now taken the couple’s daughter – Raelene Polymiadis – into custody and laid appropriate charges against her.</span></p>
<p>It will be alleged by SA Police that Raelene Polymiadis carried out her crimes while visiting her parents – mother Brenda while she was being treated in hospital for unrelated issues, and father Lynton at his Hackham home.</p>
<p><em>Images: SA Police</em></p>
