- In short: A neighbour says not enough was done to help a 71-year-old woman who starved to death in her Bridgewater community housing unit just weeks after police conducted a welfare check
- What's next? Tasmania Police say there are now specific instructions in the Tasmania Police Manual about alerting mental health services after conducting similar checks
The neighbour of a 71-year-old woman, who died alone of starvation despite a police welfare check weeks earlier, says she was let down by those who should have stepped in to help her.
Coroner Simon Cooper said police were "wrong" not to call an ambulance when they conducted the welfare check and found the woman "gravely ill — both mentally and physically".
He said body-camera footage filmed by police showed her hair was "matted into large clumps", her "eyes were glazed" and she "made no sense".
The woman was found dead in her home a month later, weighing just 35 kilograms, according to Mr Cooper's coronial report.
'Nobody really cared to do anything'
Suzie Moeakiola lived across the road from the woman for about two years and said she had been worried about her for a while.
"Her lawn was as high as her back fence and there were snakes coming out," she said.
Ms Moeakiola noticed her neighbour only left the house every two weeks to go to the supermarket in a taxi and would return with "toilet paper and tissues — you wouldn't see food".
"She was very fragile and very scared."
Ms Moeakiola said she had attempted to knock on the woman's door "but she was too scared, so I didn't go back again".
She contacted the woman's housing provider, Centacare Evolve Housing, to raise concerns but was told it could not discuss another person's case with her.
Ms Moeakiola said she and another neighbour also contacted the police.
She feels not enough was done to help.
"Nobody really cared to do anything," she said.
"How much she went through when she died, nobody will know … she died alone."
The coroner's report said the woman's existence was "that of a hermit", estranged from family and friends.
"Her life was dominated by her mental illness and resulting paranoia," Mr Cooper said.
A neighbour called police on December 9, 2021, concerned he had not seen the 71-year-old for about two weeks.
Three officers visited her unit and forced entry after she did not answer the door.
The coroner said she was "obviously malnourished and frail" but police left without calling an ambulance.
A police report was filed in the belief that support services would be notified, but nothing else was done.
A month later, when concerns were raised again, police found her dead in her home.
An ambulance report noted there was no food in the house and the fridge contained only a dirty cup.
Police manual amended
Tasmanian Opposition Leader Rebecca White said the coroner's report was "one of the most harrowing" she had read.
"That poor woman was lonely and isolated and clearly suffering from mental ill health, and should have been able to access support and maybe would be alive today."
Ms White said the coronial report showed Tasmania Police had recognised its own failings in the case and was looking to address them.
"I hope they do that swiftly because this was a very terrible incident," she said.
In a statement, Tasmania Police Assistant Commissioner, Operations, Adrian Bodnar, said: "Specific instructions are now included in the Tasmania Police Manual regarding calling the mental health services helpline for advice and referral whenever Tasmania Police has concerns about the mental health of a person officers have had contact with."
"All police officers have also been provided with advice emphasising that the Atlas computer system does not generate automatic notifications to mental health services," he said.
The chief executive of Centacare Evolve Housing (CEH), Ben Wilson, said his organisation "takes the health and welfare of our tenants very seriously and has several processes and procedures in place to support and refer tenants to services when welfare issues are identified".
"We visited this woman, who was a tenant of ours, on several occasions throughout her tenancy with us," he said.
"She was known as someone who strongly protected her own privacy, which unfortunately meant that she refused to engage with CEH beyond our role as her housing provider."
