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A grandmother used the internet to search "pre-meditated + murder + penalties" shortly before her ex-partner was found strangled in a lounge chair west of Brisbane, a court has been told.

Diana Fae Hughes, 57, faced the Brisbane Supreme Court this morning accused of killing her de facto Gregory Ross Stewart, 52.

Police found him dead in front of a television in August 2006, with several ropes tied to his body.

Hughes has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Stewart, an amputee who lost his left leg in a motorcycle accident in 1992.

The court heard the pair had a volatile relationship in the months before the murder.

Opening the case to the jury this morning, Crown prosecutor Danny Boyle said Hughes and Mr Stewart had been separated, but remained living together at their property at Sommerholm, near Laidley.

He said Hughes killed Mr Stewart because she believed he was having an affair with a 26-year-old woman who sometimes joined him on shooting trips.

Mr Boyle said a neighbour would give evidence he intervened when he saw Hughes chasing Mr Stewart around their backyard with a broom, which she smashed on his prosthetic leg, four months before the murder.

Earlier that day, she had cut Mr Stewart with a carving knife, the court was told.

Mr Boyle said Hughes had also been spotted reading an article about homicide on her work computer on the day of the murder.

The court was told that when Hughes was asked about it, she replied: "Greg's got all these guns in the house and he might try and kill me. I'm looking up how long he'll go to jail."

Following the murder, officers found Hughes had used the internet to search "pre-meditated murder" and then "Queensland + pre-meditated + murder + penalties" on the morning of Mr Stewart's death.

Police were called to the murder scene when they received a phone call from a lawyer representing Hughes, who told officers they would find Mr Stewart's body in the loungeroom of the couple's house.

When they arrived, police found Mr Stewart dead in an arm chair in front of a television.

Several ropes were found still attached to his body - one wrapped around his mouth and chin several times, one tied to his right wrist and neck and another tied to his leg and the bottom of the lounge he was sitting on.

Officers allegedly found evidence a note had been written, asking Hughes' friend to look after her two sons and her two dogs and also saying, "I doubt I'll ever regret getting even with Greg. He deserved it."

Mr Boyle said the cause of death was strangulation, most likely caused with a piece of rope around Mr Stewart's neck.

Traces of sedatives, the same type which had been prescribed to Hughes, were found in his system.

The trial, before Justice James Douglas, continues.

Source: brisbanetimes.com.au

Grandmother googled murder penalties before ex-partner's death: court