Paterson v Coroner King [2019] WASC 25 considered an application made by the senior next of kin (the mother of a girl aged 14) for an order that no post mortem examination be performed.
The information available indicated, among other things, that the deceased may have ended her life due to psychological stress associated with circumstances that might be identified through a full post mortem examination. The court noted at [15]:
Early in the morning of 2 January 2019, the deceased attempted to take her own life by hanging herself in the bathroom of Mr Pryor’s home in Kardinya. The deceased was found by Mr Pryor and conveyed to Fiona Stanley Hospital. She was later transferred to Perth Children’s Hospital. On 10 January 2019, the deceased was pronounced dead at Perth Children’s Hospital. A video, apparently recorded by the deceased on an iPad, was subsequently discovered by the deceased’s sister. The video is in the possession of police officers investigating the death, and apparently includes discussion from the deceased of her decision to end her life.
The applicant, an Aboriginal woman, opposed the performance of a post mortem examination on the deceased on spiritual and cultural grounds.
The court noted at [45] that the applicant’s cultural and spiritual beliefs, and the effect on the applicant and her family of the performance of a post mortem on the deceased must be balanced against the public interest.
From the notice issued by the coroner, it could be reasonably construed that the coroner did not harbour any particular suspicion that the deceased’s death was caused by anything other than suicide. It would appear that the coroner’s purpose in ordering a post mortem examination was to better understand the factors that might have contributed to her death, rather than to determine the actual cause of death.
The court held at [54] and ordered at [56]:
Taking into account and balancing all of the evidence and the interests before me, including the public interest, I found that it was desirable that the cultural and spiritual beliefs of the applicant prevailed and that there be no examination of the deceased which involves making a cut or incision into the body of the deceased, or the making of a permanent mark on the body of the deceased.
…
No post mortem examination is to be performed on the deceased which involves the making of a cut or incision in the body of the deceased or the making of a permanent mark on the body of the deceased (other than a puncture mark), but, subject to these restrictions, any other post mortem examination may be performed on the body of the deceased.