Tane’s son still asks his grandmother: ‘How did my dad die?’ She doesn’t know what to say

Nioka and Colin Chatfield at home in Sydney. Their son Tane was found dead in his cell at Tamworth prison in 2017. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have died. This story contains descriptions of self-harm and some readers might find it distressing.

In a small rural cemetery in Armidale, a young boy sits by a grave, gazing up at a portrait embedded in the black marble headstone.