Atilla died alone, and seemed to have no family. But a sex shop told a surprisingly different story

‘I never heard from him, never saw anyone come knocking for him. I knew someone lived there but had no idea who it was,’ a neighbour says. Illustration: Victoria Hart/Guardian Design

The inquest is held in courtroom four at Lidcombe coroner’s court, Sydney, in early August, in an echoey room so empty the coronial advocate assisting, Durand Welsh, asks if I am a family member.

Welsh’s voice bounces around the courtroom, addressing the coroner and the four other people present as he outlines what authorities knew of Atilla Demirer, his life, and his death. It was very little.