‘Galling’: family of man who died after frog toxin ceremony criticise alleged comments of retreat organiser at NSW inquest

Jarrad Antonovich, who died while at a retreat in the northern NSW. His family found alleged comments by the event organisers ‘galling’, his brother has told an inquest Photograph: Supplied

The family of a man who died following a shamanic ceremony found it “particularly galling” to hear his death described as “beautiful”, an inquest has heard.

Jarrad Antonovich died on 16 October 2021, at the Dreaming Arts festival at Arcoora, near Kyogle, in northern New South Wales.

An inquest in Lismore has heard Antonovich died of a perforated oesophagus from vomiting caused by his consumption of ayahuasca – a South American psychedelic – and “kambo” frog toxins.

The Dreaming Arts event was attended by 60 people and Antonovich was seen to be suffering with medical symptoms for more than 12 hours before an ambulance was called, an inquest heard.

Kambo ceremonies use dried secretions harvested from the giant leaf frog, a South American species. A participant’s skin is burned and scraped, and the frog’s secretions are applied to the wounds.

The substance was banned by the Therapeutic Goods Administration weeks before Antonovich’s death in 2021, for the significant health risks it poses to users and the lack of evidence for any medical benefit.

Antonovich’s brother, Christopher, told the inquest he had last spoken to Jarrad three weeks before his death.

“I’m so sad I didn’t get a chance to talk to him again, but so grateful our last communication was so wonderful. In reference to our last phone call, it was obvious to me that he had so much to live for,” he said.

“For the family to hear in this inquest that it’s been alleged the organiser of the retreat where Jaz died had said that Jaz’s passing was a beautiful occasion and how beautiful his passing was, was particularly galling for the family to hear.”

Family of Jarrad Antonovich at Lismore court where an inquest is being held into his death during the Dreaming Arts festival. Photograph: Jason O’Brien/AAP

The event organiser, Soulore “Lore” Solaris, had described Antonovich’s last moments as “beautiful”, the inquest heard earlier in the week from Patrick Santucci, who had been in a five-year relationship with Antonovich.

“‘He was with people that loved him’, Lore said, and ‘the koalas were making a special sound known to the elders when the land accepts a spirit’,” Santucci told the inquest.

On Friday, the inquest heard that Fred Woller, the site manager at Arcoora, was unaware those running the event did not have any medical training.

Woller saw Antonovich following his use of kambo and told the inquest that “it wasn’t clear that he was having a serious medical issue”.

“It looked to me as if he had had kambo and was still going through that process, which involves your face and neck being quite swollen and having shallow breathing,” he said.

The state coroner, Teresa O’Sullivan, said she was concerned by a view in the community “that almost no matter what your symptoms are, it’s all part of the process”.

“It would seem from the evidence before me so far that the average person should have recognised that Jarrad was experiencing a very serious medical event that could be something that would cause his death,” she said.

The counsel assisting the coroner said that after the kambo ceremony, Antonovich was retching, his face and neck were swollen, he described an intense pain in the back area, he could not walk unaided, he had difficulty breathing, and was moaning with pain.

Woller, who eventually called an ambulance for Antonovich, replied: “They all sound like the common symptoms that a person would be exhibiting if they’d had kambo.”

Laurel Hefferon, a former kambo practitioner who was not associated with the Dreaming Arts festival, told the inquest that slight swelling of the lips and mouth lasting less than 30 minutes was a common reaction to kambo, but “absolutely not” swelling to the neck.

In the case of neck swelling lasting longer than 30 minutes, she said: “I would seek medical help, because that is not normal.”

Hefferon ceased her work as kambo practitioner in 2021 after a client experienced an oesophageal rupture after a ceremony, the inquest heard. She took the client to a local emergency department and he was subsequently operated on.

Kambo contains a complex mixture of chemical compounds, and usage is known to cause vomiting and diarrhoea, and, in extreme cases, liver damage, oesophageal rupture, psychosis, and death.

The inquest continues.