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The family of an Australian tourist who passed away in Bali are outraged after finding out his heart was removed before his partially intact body was returned home.
Byron Haddow, a 23-year-old FIFO worker, was found floating unconscious in a pool inside a private villa on May 26.
The remains of the man from Noosa were shipped back to Australia four weeks later, and it wasn’t until a second autopsy in Queensland that the absence of his heart was discovered.
Mr Haddow’s parents, Robert and Chantal, are now demanding answers from Indonesian authorities about what happened to their son.
His parents have experienced ‘delay after delay’ in their repeated attempts to find out how Mr Haddow died and why his heart was removed.
Indonesian authorities learned about the death four days after Mr. Haddow’s passing, and by that time, the villa where he died had been compromised.
The Coroner in Bali has described the death as suspicious, and the cause of death listed on his death certificate was drowning.
Interestingly, Mr. Haddow was 178cm tall, while the pool where he allegedly drowned was only 150cm deep, further fueling his parents’ doubts about the circumstances of his death.
Byron Haddow, 23, was found floating unconscious in a pool inside a private villa in Bali on May 26.
Ms Haddow said the treatment of her son following his death has been ‘inhumane’.
‘His body was only returned nearly four weeks after his death,’ she told news.com.au.
‘Just two days before the funeral, we were informed by the Queensland Coroner that his heart had been removed and left behind in Bali without our knowledge, consent, or any legal or ethical reasoning. This is inhuman and incredibly heartbreaking,’ the family stated.
‘We had a small amount of relief when we finally got our son back to Australia. We thought at least we could say goodbye to him and lay him to rest.
‘But then to learn they’d taken his heart and that no one else knew, not even the consulate in Bali, it was a big shock.’
Cuts and bruises were found all over Mr Haddow and blood was also discovered on towels used to wrap his body in Bali.
He was taken to the BIMC private hospital before his body was delivered to the Bali Funeral Home to prepare it for repatriation to Brisbane.
An initial autopsy was performed in Ngurah General Hospital in Denpasar at the request of his family, who suspected foul play.
In emails arranging the autopsy, his parents wrote that following the procedure ‘we want his entire body sent home’.
The FIFO worker’s heart was extracted during an autopsy in Bali, and although his body was sent back to Australia months ago, his family only recently managed to retrieve the organ.
Forensic medicine specialist Dr Nola Margaret Gunawan received the body and autopsy request on May 30, but the operation was delayed by four days.
This was due to Mr Haddow’s body needing to thaw out after being frozen at the funeral home.
Dr Gunawan received a second request from Bali’s provincial police for a forensic autopsy to be performed during those four days, and the autopsy was carried out in accordance with Indonesian law.
Forensic autopsies seek to identify the cause and manner of death for legal proceedings in suspicious, violent or unexplained cases.
During these kinds of autopsies, it is common for doctors to remove vital organs like the heart or brain for further study.
Dr Gunawan said pathologists are required to prioritise forensic autopsies.
She said that she did not see the Haddows’ email requesting their son’s ‘entire body’ be sent home before his autopsy.
Even if she had seen the email ,she would have still removed his organs, she added.
‘Let me explain why. For a clinical autopsy, consent is required from the next of kin to retain organs. But for a forensic autopsy, according to Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code, consent is not required,’ Dr Gunawan said.
The results of Dr Gunawan’s autopsy revealed Mr Haddow was probably killed by a lethal combination of alcohol intoxication and an antidepressant called Duloxetine.
‘I wasn’t able to conclude whether it was an accident, suicide or homicide,’ she said.
Dr Gunawan also could not explain the many scars and bruises found on his body.
Mr Haddow’s heart was returned to Australia several months after his death after he had already had his funeral.
His parents were required to pay an additional $700 to have it repatriated.
The death is now the subject of an open coronial investigation, but The Coroners Court of Queensland has not yet released any information regarding its findings.
