Police response beset by ‘so many inadequacies’ ahead of Doreen Langham’s death, inquest hears

Queensland forensic officers sift through the remains of Doreen Langham’s home in Browns Plains, south of Brisbane on 23 February 2021. An inquest has heard that Langham’s complaints to police were ‘not properly investigated’. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

The same day Doreen Langham ended her “controlling and abusive” relationship, she called police seeking help.

The Queensland coroner’s court has heard how Langham told officers on that morning – 7 February 2021 – that her former partner, Gary Hely, had threatened her. He told Langham she had “three weeks to live”. Fifteen days later she was killed in a house fire, along with Hely.