The Northern Territory Coroner says police "did nothing to help" a woman who was fatally assaulted by her ex-partner, while he was on a suspended sentence for another crime.
Acting Coroner Elisabeth Armitage on Friday spelled out a string of failures in the lead up to the death of the woman, known as Roberta, who was killed by Lorenzo Deegan in Katherine in 2019.
Warning: the following story contains descriptions of a graphic nature.
Deegan was sentenced to a decade in prison in 2020 after pleading guilty to negligent manslaughter.
In findings handed down in Darwin Local Court, Judge Armitage recommended more comprehensive supervision of recently released violent offenders, and the finalisation of plans to better share information across Police, Corrections and Territory Families.
'Rude and dismissive' police failed Roberta
Judge Armitage said the fatal assault was the seventh time Deegan had assaulted Roberta in less than two weeks, and it happened five days after Roberta had told police Deegan was abusing her, to which she was told to "stop calling us".
"They did nothing to help her," Judge Armitage said.
"To the contrary, the police members were rude to her and dismissed her complaints. They failed to follow any of their procedures concerning domestic violence complaints."
Both officers – who are still serving in the NT Police – received formal cautions after admitting to breaches of discipline including "negligent, inefficient and careless discharge of their duties".
Judge Armitage said the failures extended beyond the actions of police, with the triple-zero call taker incorrectly classifying Roberta's phone calls, and the parole officer tasked with supervising Deegan "oblivious" to his breaches.
Under the conditions of his release following a violent assault conviction, Deegan was not allowed to drink and was required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
"She was killed after he had participated in an alcohol fuelled night, while she remained largely hidden in a bedroom and sober."
Judge Armitage said Deegan should have been subject to more stringent supervision following his release from a court-ordered rehabilitation program.
"The drinking and violence was occurring on some of the very same days Community Corrections were unsuccessfully attempting to conduct random breath tests," Judge Armitage said.
"However, Community Corrections did not think there was much more that they could have done to discover his non-compliance."
No-one raised alarm despite multiple assaults
Judge Armitage also found there should have been better communication between Police, Corrections and Territory Families in the weeks before the fatal assault.
Deegan was not supposed to have a mobile phone while in court-ordered rehabilitation but managed to send abusive and threatening text messages to Roberta's family, making plans to track her down upon his release.
He was released on a suspended sentence with a condition to stay in Katherine but received permission to travel to Darwin to visit his children.
After telling authorities he was too unwell to visit his children, he instead tracked down Roberta, who had been hiding in Darwin.
"What happened to Roberta was tantamount to kidnapping," Judge Armitage.
"When he found her, he coerced her through alcohol and violence to stay with him.
'Domestic violence rages': Coroner calls for improvements
Assistant Police Commissioner Michael White agreed there needed to be better communication between police and other agencies before domestic violence incidents occur.
"In my view, we are the last responders, not the first responders," he said.
"The system and support services, it's critical that we work together to prevent these things from happening again."
Judge Armitage said domestic violence, especially against Aboriginal women, remained a "scourge" in the Territory.
"Roberta was number 65."
"In spite of detailed considerations and recommendations made by Territory Coroner Greg Cavanagh in [a 2016 inquest], the contagion of domestic violence rages unabated."
