This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A woman accused of repeatedly trying to murder her step-grandsons has been granted bail.

The 58-year-old woman, who cannot be named, was bailed after appearing in Maroochydore magistrates court on Monday.



She is facing two counts of attempted murder and one of attempted arson over allegations she held the door closed after setting fire to the bedroom of two brothers, aged nine and 11, the court was told.



The boys escaped the fire at the home at Morayfield, north of Brisbane, in early 2014.



She faces a further two charges of attempted murder over allegations she tried to smother the older boy in his bed.



A final charge of interfering with a corpse relates to the death of a seven-month-old baby from the same family.



The Courier-Mail reports police opposed her bail applications over fears the woman would interfere with witnesses.



The report said the prosecutor, Sergeant Aaron Murray, said the woman had lied about, and instructed other people to lie about, the circumstances surrounding the baby’s death.



The court also heard the children’s mother denied that the older boy told her the grandmother had tried to smother him.



The woman’s lawyer, Tim Meehan, said the woman was not a flight risk and had no criminal history. She would be fighting the charges, he said.

The magistrate, Bernadette Callaghan, granted the woman bail. She will reappear in court at a later date.