When she went out to her car looking for her phone, she stumbled across Mr Spratt behind the wheel of her son Daniel’s Subaru in the driveway.

What unfolded next cost the mother-of-two her life; however, Mr Spratt has denied he is responsible for her murder and is standing trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

During her evidence Dijana, 22, told the jury how on the day of her mother's death, she rushed outside after hearing her start to scream.

“I heard her screaming someone was going to take my brother’s car,” she said.

“[I went outside to see what was going on and] she was tapping on [my brother’s car] windows.

“Once I got closer to the car I saw there was someone in there.”

Dijana then claims she rushed to the passenger door of the vehicle to try and open it while her mother banged on back of the car, screaming and slapping her hands on the boot.

“The person inside the car turned to look at me quickly before looking in the rear-view mirror and I heard the car crunch into gear before going backwards,” she said.

“It jolted back slightly, knocking mum down.

“She’s fallen down and I couldn’t see her behind the car.

“After that, the car’s gone back further and she went underneath.”

Holding back tears as she gave evidence, Dijana said she was screaming at Mr Spratt that her mother was under the car, as her brother rushed out of their house to help.

She claims Daniel jumped in the back seat of the car and put Mr Spratt in a headlock, repeatedly punching him until he fled from the car.

Daniel then drove the car slowly forward to release Marija’s trapped body, which was being crushed under the weight of the lowered Mitsubishi.

“I felt the longer she was underneath [the car] the less chance she had of surviving because the car was crushing her,” Dijana said.

“I got down and put her in the recovery position and told my brother to call an ambulance.”

She told the jury her mother made no sounds and did not move, after being run over the first time by the car.

She died a short time later after being rushed to hospital.

Mr Spratt admits he had intended to steal the family's car – allegedly while high on methamphetamine – but has pleaded not guilty to murder.

His lawyer, Mark Gunning, told the jury the case would rest on whether Mr Spratt was in control of the vehicle when he reversed over Marija.

“The question will be for you ... when that car is going back, what are the facts in issue there?” he said.

“Mr Spratt is being assaulted in the motor vehicle [by Daniel] at that time.

“He’s not in control of the vehicle at that point.”

The state’s case against Mr Spratt is that he had already reversed over Marija when the son rushed out to help.

CCTV from another residence on the street will be used as evidence.

Under the criminal code a person can be found guilty of murder under three definitions, one of which is killing someone while committing an unlawful act that is likely to endanger human life.

“The fact that the accused might not have intended to hurt Ms Karovska is irrelevant,” state prosecutor Katrin Robinson said.

The trial continues.