A NSW mother accused of murdering her toddler once sang the Aerosmith song Janie's Got a Gun, substituting her own name when she heard the neighbours' young children playing outside, a court has been told.
The accused killer would also sit alone in soaking wet clothes waiting for her housemate to return home from work so she could talk about aliens, aged-care worker Tammy Bourke told the Newcastle Supreme Court on Friday.
The woman would claim there were flashing lights down by a nearby lake and aliens were "coming to get her".
The 44-year-old defendant, who can't be named for legal reasons, is on trial after pleading not guilty to murdering her toddler between late December 2000 and late December 2001.
The prosecution argues the girl was born in 1999 and hasn't been seen since Christmas the following year.
The accused woman moved into Ms Bourke's Central Coast home in early 1997 and stayed for between six to eight months.
There were times when the accused woman would be soaking wet "from head to toe" and talked about aliens and flashing lights, Ms Bourke told the court.
The accused woman, who at this time was regularly smoking marijuana, feared the aliens were "coming to get her".
But when Ms Bourke asked the woman why she was sitting there soaking wet late at night she'd shut down and retreat to her bedroom.
Ms Bourke claimed the woman was also paranoid people were listening into their conversations.
She'd whisper for her to shoosh to stop people hearing what they were saying.
On one occasion, the accused woman began singing a version of the Aerosmith song Janie's Got A Gun but substituted Janie for her own name when she heard the neighbours' children playing.
"It was a bit concerning," Ms Bourke said.
It was towards the end of 1997 when Ms Bourke decided to ask the accused woman to leave her home as she was feeling uneasy about her.
Questioned by defence barrister Tim Gartelmann SC, Ms Bourke said she didn't believe the accused was joking when claiming aliens were coming to get her.
"No, I think she was quite serious," Ms Bourke said.
Another witness, Red Cross volunteer Carmel Waters, told the court the accused woman had been a regular at the charity's store with her toddler in 2000 before she came in one day on her own.
Ms Waters said the woman claimed to have given the toddler to an elderly couple to look after.
The woman told her at one stage the girl was in Darwin but was "pretty airy-fairy" about it.
Ms Waters said asking the accused anything about her past had been a "taboo" subject.
A previous witness has claimed the accused woman talked about sacrificing a child to a "wolfman" and believed aliens were writing to her in glitter.
The trial continues.
