In a landmark inquiry later this year, the Northern Territory coroner will spend four weeks examining the deaths of four Aboriginal women who were killed by their partners, despite a history of domestic violence reports.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their families.
In a directions hearing at the Darwin Local Court on Friday, ahead of the inquest itself, the coroner heard that for cultural reasons, the women will be known Miss Yunupingu, Kumanjayi Ragurrk, Kumanjayi Rubuntja and Kumanjayi Haywood throughout proceedings.
Each of the women had their own lives, families, children and relationships, living in different parts of the Northern Territory — and the circumstances of their deaths will be examined separately.
But counsel assisting the coroner, Dr Peggy Dwyer, told the court there were "tragic similarities".
"Each of the women had been the victim of horrific violence prior to their deaths, often witnessed by families or community members who may have felt helpless to intervene," Dr Dwyer said.
Judge Armitage opened the hearing with an acknowledgement of Larrakia land where the courthouse in Darwin sits, and paid respects to the elders and traditional owners of each of the women's communities.
"Each of these four deaths is a tragedy, for the deceased's families, their loved ones and our greater community," Judge Armitage said.
"Each of these deaths has contributed to the mounting Australian statistics of the women who have been killed by their domestic partners."
The coroner warned evidence that will be examined in the inquest in June and July will be "confronting, shocking and traumatic", as her inquiry works to determine "where, when and how the systems designed to protect failed to do so".
She said the purpose of the coronial inquests were not to attribute blame, but to determine what more could be done and what changes need to be made to domestic violence-related services in the NT.
The women at the centre of the inquests
Ms Rubuntja was murdered by her partner Malcolm Abbott in January 2021, and he has since been sentenced to 25 years in jail.
It was revealed at his sentencing hearing that he had previously been convicted of the manslaughter of a former partner.
Miss Yunupingu was stabbed to death by her partner Neil Marika, who has since been sentenced to nine years in jail for reckless manslaughter.
The Supreme Court heard at the time that he had been assaulting his partner over 12 years, and had previously served five years in prison for other violent attacks.
Ms Ragurrk was brutally killed by her partner Garsek Nawirridj just before Christmas in 2019 at Darwin's Mindil Beach.
Nawirridj has since been sentenced to 13 years in prison for manslaughter. The Supreme Court heard at the time he had an extensive history of violence and had spent much of his adult life in jail.
Ms Haywood died in November 2021 after her partner Kumanjayi Dixon set a house near Alice Springs on fire whilst she was inside.
He had previously spent time in custody for domestic violence against her.
He also died from injuries related to the fire.
"Each of the women had reached out for help at some time from police and other service providers, who were not ultimately able to keep them safe," Dr Dwyer said.
"Each of these women were deeply loved by their family and their death causes trauma that will be felt for generations."
The coroner will examine each death separately, with the inquiries into the deaths of Ms Rubuntja and Ms Haywood to be held in Alice Springs, while the deaths of Ms Ragurrk and Miss Yunupingu will be investigated in Darwin.
The inquiries will stretch for four consecutive weeks, beginning on June 12 in Alice Springs, before adjourning until October when a further two weeks of expert evidence relevant to each of the deaths will be heard in Darwin.
Dr Dwyer told the hearing that women in the NT experienced the highest rates of physical and sexual violence in the country, but that statistics did not "paint the whole picture".
"On the one hand, [statistics] miss the violence that is not being reported and I anticipate that Your Honour will hear evidence from experts about the high numbers of women who do not report assaults and injury," Dr Dwyer said.
"Second, they don't tell the story of the positive initiatives that are having an impact in the NT. Nor of the thousands of frontline workers who work tirelessly every day and do make a difference to the safety of victims of violence."
Police, corrections and domestic-violence services under microscope
Dr Dwyer told the hearing the inquest will examine the cycle of domestic violence in the NT, as well as the impact of alcohol on rates of harm against women.
"I expect the evidence will be that alcohol-related presentations at Alice Springs Hospital emergency department have dropped dramatically since liquor bans were reinstated in the region," Dr Dwyer said.
The court heard a draft list of issues the coroner was expected to explore included questions such as "Is communication between service providers, eg NT Health, NT Police, NT Corrections, and women's shelters adequate?" and "Is the training that police receive adequate to understanding their obligations when investigating potential domestic violence?".
Dr Dwyer also said the inquest would examine what, if any, programs were available to domestic violence perpetrators whilst they were in prison.
"Each of the men involved in the deaths had served time in custody for prior acts of violence against women," Dr Dwyer said.
