An 88-year-old woman has died in hospital after she was struck by a car in Pyree, in the NSW Shoalhaven region. Police were called to Pyree Lane at about 1:45 pm on Saturday, 24 October, after reports of a pedestrian being hit. Paramedics treated the woman at the scene before she was flown to St George Hospital in a critical condition. Police were told on Sunday, 25 October, that she had died. The 43-year-old driver returned a negative result on a roadside breath test and was taken to Shoalhaven Memorial Hospital for mandatory testing.
Former Fraser Coast councillor James Hansen, 57, has been identified as the man found dead in floodwaters at Boompa, police say. He served on the Fraser Coast regional council from 2012 to 2024 and ran for One Nation in 2017. Mayor George Seymour called his death a great loss to the community. Police have begun an investigation and will prepare a report for the coroner. Separately, six campers were rescued from flood waters at Leyburn on the Southern Downs.
Police are investigating the death of a man found in floodwaters at Boompa on the Fraser Coast on Monday, 26 October. Emergency services were called to Smothering Creek on Boompa Road shortly after 11am after reports that a man had been found unresponsive. Crews declared him dead on arrival. Investigations into the circumstances of his death are ongoing, and police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
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A birthkeeper who allegedly groomed pregnant women to fear hospital could be referred to prosecutors over potential criminal charges, a Victorian coroner has heard. Emily Lal was paid $6,000 to support Stacey Warnecke through her pregnancy. Warnecke died in September 2025 at Frankston hospital after a home birth and a postpartum haemorrhage. Counsel assisting the coroner said phone evidence contradicted Lal's earlier testimony, and that it would be open to find she was untruthful, which could lead to a perjury referral. The coroner will deliver her findings at a later date.
A coronial inquest into the deaths of six children at Hillcrest Primary School in northern Tasmania in 2021 is expected to hear evidence from a US dust devil expert. Counsel assisting the coroner, Maree Norton SC, told a Hobart case management hearing that she is looking to engage Dr Ralph Lorenz, a planetary scientist and aerospace engineer. Ms Norton said he would give his opinion on pressure drops and the interaction between the dust devil and the castle structure. The six children died when a wind gust lifted a jumping castle at an end-of-year celebration.
The family of 86-year-old Leo Barraclough say his death at Caboolture Hospital in June 2024 was not reported to the coroner. An ABC investigation found multiple problems with his care, including delayed antibiotics, missed observations and an opioid dose that was higher than recommended. Hospital staff recorded his death as not unexpected. After the ABC raised questions, Metro North Health Service referred the death to the coroner out of an abundance of caution. The family has welcomed the referral.
A man believed to be 58 years old died at the scene after an SUV left the M1 Pacific Motorway at Fingal Head and hit a tree on Friday, 23 October. He has not yet been formally identified. Police have established a crime scene and a report will be prepared for the Coroner. Separately, an 83-year-old woman died in hospital on Saturday, 24 October, more than two weeks after a hatchback crashed into a parked vehicle on the Pacific Highway at Herons Creek on Wednesday, 7 October.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner after a man's body was found in waters off Avalon Road in Avalon on Monday evening. The search followed the discovery of an unoccupied kayak near Limeburners Bay in Corio earlier that day. Emergency crews, including Water Police, the Air Wing, Marine Search and Rescue and SES volunteers, joined officers in the search. The body belonged to a 60-year-old man from East Geelong.
The body of a 60-year-old East Geelong man has been found in waters off Avalon. Emergency services were alerted on Saturday after an empty kayak was found near Limeburners Bay in Corio. Police, Water Police, the Air Wing, Marine Search and Rescue crews and SES volunteers searched the surrounding waters. The search ended at about 6.50pm when the man's body was found off Avalon Road. Police say the death is not being treated as suspicious, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
A 60-year-old East Geelong man has been found dead in water at Avalon, near Geelong. Victoria Police said his body was found near Avalon Road at about 6:50pm on Saturday. Emergency services had been alerted after an unoccupied kayak was found near Limeburners Bay in Corio earlier that day. Water Police, the Air Wing, Marine Search and Rescue and SES volunteers took part in the search. Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
A Victorian coroner has found that a two-month-old girl, known as Baby M, died accidentally in July 2023 in Melbourne's southeast suburbs. The coroner ruled her death resulted from complications of coronavirus and an adenovirus infection, in an unsafe sleeping environment. A forensic pathologist found methamphetamine detected in her hair was not in her blood and did not contribute to her death. The coroner said her mother, Ms L, had taken appropriate steps on safe sleeping and infection checks, and made no adverse comments about anyone involved.
An inquest in Brisbane is examining why government agencies judged six-year-old Elizabeth Struhs safe before her death in January 2022. Her doctors had warned that her mother's extreme religious beliefs could sabotage her diabetes treatment, but child safety officers did not act on those warnings. A 2019 intervention ended after 17 weeks, and her father later stopped her insulin. Her parents and 14 church members were convicted in relation to her death. Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard will hand down her findings next year.
A coroner has declared Jessica Jade Zrinski dead and referred her disappearance to the unsolved homicide team. Ms Zrinski, 30, was last seen on CCTV at a petrol station in the NSW Blue Mountains in the company of Paul Jones, a Horsley Park man. Coroner David O'Neil found Mr Jones's account of events unconvincing and rejected his claim that drugs had affected his memory. Mr Jones left NSW soon after police searched his house. A $500,000 reward for information remains on offer.
A coroner broke down in tears in Brisbane after hearing from the sister of Elizabeth Struhs, an eight-year-old girl who died in January 2022. Elizabeth's father had agreed to stop giving her insulin for type-1 diabetes, in line with the beliefs of the religious group the Saints. Her sister Jayde told the inquest about the childhood milestones Elizabeth would never reach. Elizabeth's parents were jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of manslaughter in 2025. The coroner's findings will be delivered at a later date.
A South Australian coroner has found that convicted bomber Domenic Perre threatened to cough blood onto prison and health staff before he died in custody. State Coroner Naomi Kereru said Perre, 66, died of complications from lung disease, along with heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. She said his refusal to eat, take medication and allow blood glucose monitoring contributed to his poor health. The coroner found he was treated appropriately at all times and made no further recommendations. Perre was convicted in 2022 of murdering Detective Sergeant Geoffrey Bowen in a 1994 mail bombing.
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A Canberra coroner has recommended the ACT government consider banning nitrous oxide sales to people under 18. The recommendation follows a 2023 crash in which an 18-year-old P-plater, influenced by the gas, veered off the road into Isabella Pond and drowned. Health Minister Marisa Paterson said the government agreed to two of the three recommendations and that regulatory changes could be brought in within 12 months. The changes would closely mirror new NSW rules starting on 5 November.
A coroner broke down in tears in Brisbane after hearing from the sister of Elizabeth Struhs, an eight-year-old girl who died in January 2022. Elizabeth's father had agreed to stop giving her insulin for type-1 diabetes, in line with the beliefs of the religious group the Saints. Her sister Jayde told the inquest about the childhood milestones Elizabeth would never reach. Elizabeth's parents were jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of manslaughter in 2025. The coroner's findings will be delivered at a later date.
An internal investigation has been launched after a woman died in police presence following a roadside breath testing operation in Geraldton on Monday night. Police say officers stopped a female driver on Brand Highway in Mount Tarcoola about 6.55pm. The woman completed breath testing, was issued a driving prohibition notice and was released from custody. Police say she then experienced a medical issue, and officers offered assistance, which was declined. After officers contacted St John WA, she became unresponsive. Officers gave first aid until paramedics arrived, and she was taken to hospital, where she was later declared dead.
Victoria Police say the death of a man found face down in a Waurn Ponds creek is not being treated as suspicious at this stage. Emergency services were called to reports of a man found unresponsive in water near Colac Road at about 8.05pm on 21 October. The man could not be revived and died at the scene. Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
