Day 10. Findings

 Today we are presented by Deputy state Coroner Hugh Dillon with his findings.

The findings are unsurprising to anyone who has been in court for the last 9 days. A précis of his findings are as follows.

Jai Morcom died of a basial subarachnoid haemorrhage on the morning of 28 August 2009 during an altercation in the schoolyard of Mullumbimby High School. No evidence has been seen to show he was bashed to death or murdered by any person or group. How the Subarachnoid haemorrhage was brought on about is inconclusive.

Deputy state coroner findings were presented with great detail and untold compassion for the family and friends of Jai. I have been in this inquest from day one and quite frankly it could not have been more thorough and methodical in its investigation. It is no small wonder that it has taken a year and six months to reach this point.

Hugh Dillon pointed out that one has to remember around thirty people were present in a sudden fast moving quickly changing event that lasted between 30 seconds and a minute. People will see and recall things in rapid fragments that when after the event and a degree of conversation cross referencing has taken place, (it is not possible to isolate thirty people from each other in the aftermath) confusion sets in over the sequence of fragments, the identity of people in those fragments and confusion over what they saw to happen and what they heard had happened. This has led to many of the testimonies being inconsistent and not possible to corroborate accurately into cogent reliable evidence. 

When a child dies you want answers, and if it is in traumatic circumstances you most certainly want someone to be held to account. As I have said in this Blog on many occasions the truth is an evasive creature, it is sometimes evasive because someone has hidden it and sometimes it’s evasive because it is simply indistinct. This inquest has shown that no one has tried to hide the truth, with an investigation team of this magnitude it would have been dug up with little effort. The sad fact is, this ‘truth’ is evasive because it is too indistinct to isolate and sometimes that is the hardest and most bitter pill to swallow.

Outside the court Steve Drummond expressed his disappointment and said he was considering his options

DAY 9 sufferance of truth

This is the day we heard from the final witness a pupil whom I shall refer to as ‘Boy 1’. His testimony is crucial since he was at the epicentre of the brawl and also at together with ‘second punch’ has been at the epicentre of gossip and rumour as the primary antagonists. Boy 1 took the witness stand for a grueling 2 hours and 45 minutes with out a break. Michael Wigney went over his testimony with a fine toothcomb covering the fight from wo to go to stop in a manner that was as steady as it was methodical. Boy 1 was consistent in his version of events and pointed out various discrepancies within the police transcript that he corrected. All the time his father stood by the door watching tense and stressed his eyes constantly darting around the court room. Despite the constant and steady flow of questions and clarifications Boy1 was never fazed irritated of angry. In fact this seems to have been a common factor in all the pupil witness’s, I never saw a witness show stress animosity anger or malice to either the situation or any other witness. Also boy 1 claimed he only ever tried to break up the fight and this was the only piece of evidence that was corroborated across the board without equivocation.

After this marathon there was a short break and we reconvened after fifteen minutes to hear submissions from first a submission written by Kim Morcom and read by Michael Wigney, followed by a submission read by Steve Drummond, I shall say no more other than both statement were utterly heart breaking. Particularly Steve as the only way he could maintain composure was to read as fast as possible. One other piece of evidence was consistent all the way through the case and that was of Jai’s character of the most joyous loving fresh positive non-aggressive peacemaker that ever graced the earth.

We broke for a short lunch and returned to listen to the Coroners assistant make his submission. It was absolutely as we all expected, the medical evidence was inconclusive in the manner of but not in moment of the subarachnoid haemorrhage that killed Jai. It would have been fast and from the moment of rupture he had only moments before collapse and unconsciousness would follow. Those moments were when he struck the wall and slid down and lay unconscious, evidence that he struck the wall violently is in contradiction to other evidence that says he stumbled into the wall and slid down. No evidence places a person or persons placing a blow on Jai in those preceding moments.

Michael Wigney went to great pains and detail to explain the medical and oral testimonies. He revealed in great detail how many of the testimonies had inconsistencies that rendered them non cogent and unreliable. We have to remember it is does not mean that some of these things did not happen, it means we cannot show them to have actually taken place and this is the nature of truth, it can be a very evasive beast. In our democratic judicial system we do not imagine the truth, we do not speculate the truth, we do not fabricate the truth, we d not assume the truth. With all means at our disposal we reveal as much of it to be correct as is humanly possible. In some cases those revelations will never be enough to tell us what actually happened. All through Michael Wigneys submission I watched it the reality of the facts revealed wash down on Steve like a tropical fall of rain. The truth of the version of events he had held on to and sought vindication of, before this inquest, was washed away in the slow motion flash flood that was this most correct and methodical of inquests. After Michael Wigney finished Steve Drummond stood emotionally naked in the middle of the court and bid Hugh Dillon thanks and stated that he would stand by his findings. After a brief commendation of his conduct by the deputy Coroner, Steve Drummond left the court he was drawn and tired with sunken eyes but he held the dignity of a mountain; a braver man I have yet to witness.

In the reflection of the loss of my own children, I still could not find words that would remotely comfort Steve or Jai’s mother. The loss of a child is the greatest tragedy that can befall a human being. Sadness moves into the body and it never leaves; the yearning for their presence is always lurking in some moment somewhere. When you loose a child you never recover, but you do with time learn to live with it.

Day 8 the patience of truth.

 

Another morning of peripheral witness’s whose testimony is haphazard hazy and inconsistent with other testimonies. There is some hope when one witness names name’s of those giving and receiving punches with refreshing accuracy, however under minute cross examination from Michael Wigney it is quickly revealed that many of the names were learnt after the event and not known before.

A short lunch is called and after this adjournment we will hear the testimony of ‘second punch’ who being a central antagonist is eagerly waited by many. We are all however reminded, by Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon, in no uncertain terms of the stop publication order of identifying any Mullumbimby high school pupil past or present, involved in this case.

All through this case Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon has lead the proceedings with an extraordinary authority based on calm humanity with a humility and central strength that demands immediate respect. He has been strong where strength was needed and human where humanity was required; remembering, this is a case with many young people involved who have never confronted the judiciary before and thankfully probably never will again. Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon is also given ample assistance from an imposing seat above which is the royal crest of justice and beneath him sits the court clerk who is an imposing female figure who will clearly take no nonsense from anyone who even dreams of the act of court contempt.

So it was very interesting with this very imposing judicial figure in mind that when I went for lunch and trawled Woodlark street for a digestible sandwich. Suddenly I noticed Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon doing said same thing, all five feet 8 inches of him with a waist of 29 inches and the build of a matchstick with the wood shaved off. The strength and ability of this man is totally internal and my goodness we need more of them.

After Lunch ‘second punch’ gives his evidence, but even after two hours of questions and persistent cross-examination, with some interesting inconsistencies, his testimony sheds little new light on the event. From his point of view he put his head down and fought for his own safety, the net result being, he says, he neither saw whom he hit or vice versa.

Day 7 tears on the horizon

Today was a more sombre day for reasons of utter inconsequence. Another stream of young kids came through giving their evidence, some of whom were only 11 years old at the time. Again the memories have faded and the pupil’s cognitive knowledge of the pupils and teachers of the large school was frighteningly absent. This I felt was a damming indictment of a modern school where the pupils outside their own immediate space have little knowledge of the people around them. It made me realise that the good old-fashioned assembly every morning was a valuable exercise in inter pupil and teacher recognition if nothing else. ‘Second punch’s’ Girl friend gave her evidence, which was quite indistinct and inconclusive as was all the other pupils’ evidence really. If they could remember someone’s name they could not remember if they saw them hit anyone, if they saw someone hit some one they could not remember whom it was or what year they were. There are many pieces to this puzzle but whilst the pattern is getting clear the main picture is still yet to emerge. There are two very sad things that have become apparent. So far in 7 days of questioning when ever anyone is asked about Jai’s character, across the board without equivocation a picture is painted of a most kind generous loving smiling soul that every lived. One Girl stated that all the friends she has to day in the school are the result of Jai’s love and generosity when she first came to the school scared and alone.

The other thing was, it has been reported but I was unaware, was that ‘Second punch’ and his girl friend, who are 19 and 18, had a baby together not 5 months ago. Outside the court ‘second punch’, who is possibly in a precarious position having been positively identified delivering some savage blows to Jai, I watched him as he held and caressed his small offspring in a genuinely soft and caring manner, it was indeed quite heart breaking.

Day 6. Medical experts.

Today the search for what happened, or the truth we crave, gets technical and the medical expert witness’s are brought in.

The session begins in a sombre mood as the deputy state coroner reminds the court that medical evidence can be very distressing for those who were close to the deceased. Steve Drummond is given every opportunity to excuse himself but he opts to stay and pose his questions.

The medical experts enter, 4 of them three women one man. Three are neuron & anatomical pathologists, the remaining is a Neuro surgeon, or a brain surgeon in lay language. I have to say this aspect of this inquest I was ready to experience something very harrowing and intensely emotional, in fact it rapidly descended into something verging on farce! The three pathologists 2 female 1 male really looked like they had crawled off the slab and got dressed, the brain surgeon actually looked quite alive which was a relief. Immediately Michael Wingney found a major discrepancy in their statistical analysis. This was a bit of a surprise a doctors are notorious for standing shoulder to shoulder in everything except blame. One of the pathologists pointed out that the discrepancy was due to the fact that the brain surgeon dealt only with live patients where as pathologists dealt only with dead ones, it really is too simple sometimes isn’t it. Now at this point I have to bring the worlds attention to one particular fact, God may have endowed these people with extraordinary incite intelligence and manual ability but he did not endow them with vocal chords sufficient for the average 19 century court room.

Over the next five hours I craned my ears to hear every word they said and all of it lengthy medical terminology of which I had no known point of reference. It was like finding myself reporting a trial in Iran with no interpreter. There were endless discussions on Aneurisms, sub arachnoid haemorrhages, vertical arterial tears. What type are there, those spontaneous (just happen due to congenital abnormality) those caused by trauma, (blow to the head). What happens what are the signs in pre-existing conditions? It went on and on in a series of totally frustrating mumbles and whispers. Having said that what was very clear was that all you boys who happen to fancy a bit of biff after a beer on a Saturday night, be warned! One punch in the right place at really quite a low velocity can have fatal consequences.

The reason I have been so flip on this piece is that at the end of the day these experts did not leave any stone unturned telling us the exact details of how death by sub-arachnoid haemorrhage comes about. They covered its speed its velocity, its type, its induction, its pre-existing conditions, symptoms and ability to leave little trace of actual rupture. They described the action of a punches rotational hyper-extending blow, fast, slow, dull or sharp in sickeningly minute detail! But what they could not do, was tell the court was how it happened in this particular case; in fact it rapidly looked as though there wa s no chance of an answer unless the cranium contained an indentation into which a 5-dollar axe from Bunnings would fit with suspicious neatness.

DAY 5 Peripheral vision

Yesterday the witness’s were foggy with an idea of pupil movement, in and around the fight, which figures moved where, who threw punches, which figures did not, it is all frustratingly indistinct with indistinct memories still indistinct and good memories withdrawn. Nevertheless a pattern of activity and ‘person’ movements appearing in the crucial areas of ‘Jai’ is emerging but there is little cognitive recognition that includes specific names.

I arrive on Friday expecting more of the same and less drama due to the fact that even though Steve Drummond did not actually contravene any laws or court orders the previous day, he was clearly minding his step every inch of the way.

The first witness, a young mousy boy on the periphery of the fight watching it by standing on a table. I am tired, having had a late night the nigh before do not pay attention, till! The witness names a specific boy punching Jai. Now, so far we have heard many witness’s say Jai was punched but not by whom.

This is the first witness to place a name to someone who punched Jai repeatedly. More interestingly when Michael Wigney asks the boy, if his original statement is accurate and does he still remember it? He is quite adamant he does, and there is nothing he wants to add or change. The boy who punched Jai I shall call ‘second punch’ because it is he who was originally punched by ‘first punch’. (Earlier in blog)

‘Second punch’ sits in the jury area as he has done all week were he has taken many notes, but now he sits impassively.

Two more witness come to the stand, they are more central to the action and like others their recollections are no patch and hazy. One of the witness’s clearly had great affection for Jai and the event clearly took a massive emotional toll on him and it would appear to continue to do so. He does have crucial evidence about Jai’s demeanour after being hit repeatedly by someone he was not able to recognise.

After lunch there was another witness from a peripheral vision of non-combatants A goofy kid with a strange hair cut jeans and checked shirt, he looked in awe of the proceedings but none the less focused. Due to the fact that many witness’s mumbled in that oh so wonderful way adolescents do, Deputy Sate Coroner asked him to keep his voice up so the court could hear. He needn’t have asked, the boy has a crisp clear voice of ample volume and proceeded to take questions in verbatim with responses accordingly. As he did with others, in search of compromised statements, Michael Wigney asks what he did after the fight, he went to his class, did he leave is class for any reason, yes, why did he leave class? I went to the toilet, is the reply. This produced a smirk of humour from counsel but once Wigney had established the boy’s statement was still a fair and full account of what he saw, Michael Wigney read a summary of the statement and any humour evaporated. The nub of the statement was that this witness saw ‘second punch’ punch Jai repeatedly on the back of the head very hard 4 or 5 times whilst Jai lay face down on the ground.

This is the second witness to actually recognise and name someone repeatedly punching Jai and the same person as the first witness to name someone punching Jai.

This revelation came in the few minutes after the start of the post lunch session. For the next one and a half hours Michael Wigney questioned this boy over his statement in the most microscopic detail, again and again and again pinning down what he saw how could he be sure? This boy had not recanted anything of his statement he was adamant what he said in his original statement was a full and truthful account of what he saw. This is a schoolboy yet he faced this intense questioning and cross-examination with forthright calmness never being phased irritated or harried into changing his account. He stuck by what he saw, and said so again and again without flaw elaboration or embroidering. At one point he did sigh with tiredness and then threw a worried glance at ‘Second punch’ who looked at him back.

At one point the questioning was so intense and detailed my colleague whispered to me, ‘Is he trying to discredit him?’.

I whispered back, ‘no I think it is the opposite’.

It was my assessment that the evidence this boy gave was so serious and could indeed show a serious offence had been committed, that Michael Wigney was not going to risk there being any flaw in it that could be opened up at a later date, consequently a myopic approach to this testimony, which no other witness got.

At the end of the day I have to salute the witness for integrity way beyond his years and for a professionalism correctly weighed against necessary humanity in Michael Wigney.

DAY 4 More kids & some admonishment.

 

Day 4 started with the Deputy state Coroner Hugh Dillon admonishing Steve Drummond for a quote, that appeared in the Sydney morning Herald that morning and attributed to him. The quote was possibly detrimental to Mullum High school and though Steve Drummond maintained the quote was not only taken out of context but also misquoted, the Deputy State Coroner still gave him a stern warning and also to anyone making posts on My space, facebook or any other social networking sites.

The morning continued with Pupils at the epicentre of the fight giving their evidence, and interestingly once the contents of their statements had been brought to their attention most of them stated aspects of their statements were wrong, incorrect or in some instances contained things that they now did not remember happening at all.

Indeed some pupils used terms like ‘my head was in a weird space at that time’

Others however used efficient answers like ‘I don’t recall that’ or ‘I have no recollection’ or simply ‘I do not remember’.

Michael Wigney the deputy coroner‘s assistant was very thorough in finding which statements may have been compromised by inter-pupil chat before they were actually made. Indeed he was also very thorough in pinning down what parts of statements were stood by and which were not. In many ways it was a frustrating day for the truth as the misty fog of fading memories fought for domination over, what was seen to happen, and what was, overheard to have happened.  However in this inquest Michael Wigney is indeed impressive, he stands for the entire day, questioning the witness’s in every tiny detail, his vocal chords must have the stamina of David Beckhams legs. Any actor or teacher will tell you how strenuous it is talking all day, and especially when there is great repetition of what is being said, with full names being used at all times. Michael Wigney’s stamina clarity focus and thoroughness over these long sessions are indeed impressive.

After the morning adjournment Steve Drummond was asked by the deputy coroner to approach the bar. When he did so he was told he was overheard saying some thing outside the court and the Deputy state Coroner asked if he had said, ‘you murdered my son’ to one of the state witness’s. The surprise on Steve’s face at this allegation was as clear as day and he categorically denied saying any such thing. The judge accepted this with reservation, in that he did say two people heard it and he gave Steve a stern warning that if anything did happen like this he could be facing charges from the Supreme Court.

With these events I become very conscious of what I am writing, I double-check, have I inadvertently put a boys name in my blog? Is what I am writing innuendo or rumour? Suddenly the simple act of saying or writing something that is in my mind puts me in a situation where I can come face to face with the legal system. After all, to break into a house and steal something is a journey with many possible pauses for reconsideration before a crime is committed. Writing what is in your mind is a shorter journey with fewer pauses, for reconsideration. Speaking your mind is a shorter journey still, with no pauses for reconsideration.

In Steve Drummond situation this appears to have been a miss interpretation of Steve shouting at a journalist for whose copy he did not care. At one point he shouted, ‘I don’t like the way you portrayed my son!

The irony in this particular moment where Steve Drummond was admonished for a second time, was that I and one other journalist were the only writers in the public gallery and we both wrote it down quite differently.

The afternoon Continued and the witness tally starts to fall behind Schedule, we are starting to here from more peripheral witness’s and it is interesting because it would appear the closer to the fight a witness was (physically & emotionally) the less they seem to have seen or remember seeing.