Brittney Jade Dwyer, 20, allegedly stabbed her grandfather after he showed her family photos.
An Australian woman is on trial for murder after cops say she fatally stabbed her own grandfather in a killing that was reportedly motivated by a stateside hit TV series.
Brittney Jade Dwyer was 19 when prosecutors say she and her alleged accomplice drove across the country to the city of Adelaide and the home of 81-year-old Robert Whitwell.
"The motivation is obviously robbery of money from Mr. Whitwell but it seems to be, to a certain extent, motivated by a TV program called American Horror Story,” her attorney told a judge Wednesday as he outlined his clients troubled history of mental illness and drug use.
Dwyer suffers from borderline personality disorder and claimed her daily consumption of cannabis was coupled with a bottle of vodka, topped off with cocaine and ecstasy, according to News.com.au.
Investigators say Dwyer and her girlfriend, Bernadette Burns, traveled to Whitwell's home in August. Once there, they say Burns stayed in the car while Dwyer went into her grandfather's home.
Inside, the octogenarian showed his granddaughter old family photos and, for a moment, investigators say Dwyer decided she couldn't do it.
“The accused then sent a text message to Ms. Burns saying she could not go through with the plan,” court documents say.
Authorities say Burns replied "they had come all this way" in a bid to get her to do as they planned.
And in the end, cops say, she committed the grisly crime.
Dwyer is accused of taking out a knife and stabbing her grandfather in the neck and chest. It is alleged that she did dishes in the kitchen as her grandfather bled to death.
The plan was reportedly to rob Whitwell of about $90,000 USD they believed he had hidden in a shed.
However, the women left with only around $1,000 and some coins and electronics, according to cops.
Whitwell's body was discovered three days later and the women were arrested Aug. 26. They have since both pleaded guilty to murder charges.
Dwyer and Burns will be sentenced next month.
