Lara Zasiadczyk-Riveros is devastated. The sight of the empty ground-floor bedroom at her Kaleen home, which was once "lit up" with her boy's laughter, now leaves her in tears.
On the morning of June 8, 2026, she witnessed something no mother should ever have to see.
"I went to wake him up and say good morning like every day. You just get that feeling that something is wrong," the heartbroken mother recalled to The Canberra Times, remembering the horrific moment she found her 18-year-old son in bed, motionless.
Harley Jozef Stephens aka "Bunyip", described by friends as the most adventurous of their group, had died hours before his mother found him. He had returned home after time with his friends.
An ACT Policing spokesperson said, on June 8, ACT Policing was notified of a suspected drug overdose death at a home in Kaleen.
"Police and forensics officers attended the scene and a report will be prepared for the coroner," the spokesperson said.
"His chest wasn't moving. He had been gone for about two hours. It was horrific to see," she said. "It's an image that I'll never get out of my head. It's burning me."
An inconsolable Ms Zasiadczyk-Riveros held her boy in her arms until the ambulance arrived.
"You're not taking him. You know, you'll have to take me first," the mother's grief poured out as her son's body was eventually removed.
More than 10 days have passed, and Ms Zasiadczyk-Riveros, a qualified veterinarian practising in Belconnen, is still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her firstborn.
"Harley was her world," said Jan Hennock, the mother of Aiden, Harley's childhood friend.
"Some people spend a lifetime making an impact. He did it in just 18 years. His mere presence could light up any room, and his contagious smile brought joy to everyone fortunate enough to have met him," Ms Hennock said.
She added that the 18-year-old was her son's best friend, and that Aiden has been left devastated by the sudden loss.
"He was what we called a big personality, so he's remembered by people everywhere. I was blown away that he had so many friends. There are about 150 people going to the funeral," Ms Zasiadczyk-Riveros said, showing a T-shirt design created by his friends to celebrate the life of the Canberra teen.
Harley Jozef Stephens was laid to rest in Mitchell on Thursday afternoon, with family and friends in attendance.
The Pennington Institute's latest snapshot of drug-induced deaths in Australia showed overdose deaths had reached a record high, with 2596 deaths recorded in 2024, including 29 in the ACT.
Chief executive of the institute, John Ryan OAM, said there was a "terrible" lag time between an overdose death and when it could officially be reported due to slow and thorough coronial processes.
He expected the number of deaths would rise by five to 10 per cent when Australia's Annual Overdose Report 2026 in released on August 31.
While CanTest's drug-checking service and community notices were "a good thing" in the ACT, Mr Ryan said there was more to do, especially for young people.
"We've got a huge knowledge deficit in the community around drug use, about the potential harm from drugs and the potential risk of overdose, and how to respond in an overdose," Mr Ryan said.
"Sadly I think that applies just as much to the ACT as anywhere else in Australia, which means that people are ... basically dying from ignorance."
This masthead contacted the ACT Coroner to ask how many deaths in Canberra this year were suspected fatal overdoses. A coroner's associate said this information could not be provided because findings related to causes of death had not been made.
