WARNING: This story contains description of self-harm which some readers may find distressing. It also contains the name of an Indigenous man who has passed away, used with the permission of his family
An Indigenous man who died by suicide while on remand in Darwin prison had likely been dead for more than eight hours by the time he was found, the Northern Territory coroner has heard.
A three-day inquest into the death of Bernard Hector, 31, has heard he died by self-inflicted hanging in his cell in August 2021.
The barrister for Mr Hector's family told the court he had been deemed "at risk" when he was remanded in custody, after telling his then-lawyer "I'm going to kill myself when I go to jail... tell my Mum".
The inquest heard Mr Hector was monitored for 24-hours before being placed into the general prison population after a panel of health professionals recommended his at-risk status be lifted.
He was noticed missing during a morning muster six weeks later and found in his cell, which was in a section of the prison not usually patrolled at night.
"Correctional officers found that Mr Hector's door was locked and the window through the door was obscured by a towel," counsel assisting the coroner, Kelvin Currie, told the inquest.
"Rigor mortis had set in, which indicated he had likely been deceased for over eight hours."
Mr Currie told the court the immediate response from corrections officers and medics who administered CPR until paramedics arrived was "exceptionally well administered."
Over three days, coroner Elisabeth Armitage will examine the circumstances of Mr Hector's death, including his care, supervision, and treatment while in custody at the Darwin Correctional Centre.
Under NT legislation, a coronial inquest must be held for every death in custody.
'I've sold my soul to the devil'
During his opening statement to the coroner, barrister for Mr Hector's family, John Lawrence SC, told the court the 31-year-old had been playing with a homemade Ouija board and told fellow prisoners "the devil" was in him, prior to his death.
"Some of these prisoners made telling observations that he was becoming mentally disturbed," Mr Lawrence said.
He told the court Mr Hector reportedly said:
"I've sold my soul to the devil. The devil is already in me. I'm going to hang myself."
Mr Hector was assessed by a health professional six weeks prior to his death, who referred him to drug and alcohol counselling and ceased forensic mental health intervention.
The police officer in charge of the coronial investigation said he did not see that decision as an issue.
"I don't think there was a great body of evidence that suggested he was suffering from a mental illness and it seemed to me his [prior mental health] issues… were related to consumption of alcohol," Detective Senior Constable Steven Flynn said.
Under cross examination, Detective Flynn was asked if he sought to investigate why Mr Hector was held in a cell on his own, rather than with fellow prisoners.
"None of the available information indicated any correction officers had any knowledge of his state of mind and no reason not to place him on his own," Detective Flynn said.
Two fellow prisoners and relatives of Mr Hector were also called to give evidence.
One told the coroner he didn't think Mr Hector was serious when he spoke about having suicidal thoughts and so did not raise an alarm with prison staff.
The other said Mr Hector had seemed sad, quiet and "worried about his kid" prior to his death.
Inquest begins after long delay
The inquest into Mr Hector's death was originally scheduled to run in July last year.
It was aborted at the last minute at the request of the family's barrister, on the basis that evidence from government departments was only filed two days before the hearings were due to start.
Mr Lawrence SC took aim at the coroner's office, questioning what he described as Judge Armitage's "regime", during extended cross examination of the police officer in charge of the coronial investigation.
"My clients are Aboriginal, and they don't have the faith in any of these departments [of health and corrections] that you as a coroner seem to hold," Mr Lawrence SC said.
"Our complaint is that the department shouldn't be allowed to sit back and read what the police gathered, then put in their statement, no doubt with legal advice.
"That isn't how it should be done."
When asked by Judge Armitage to point to a specific area of investigation he believed had not been conducted, Mr Lawrence SC said he could not.
"There were no obvious or glaring issues [with the police brief of evidence] … and it's then been gone through again with a fine-toothed comb by the experts in the area, namely the Department of Health and Corrections, in order to thoroughly examine … whether or not they can identify any improvements," Judge Armitage said.
"I don't see anything inappropriate about that at all."
Counsel assisting told Mr Lawrence SC that NT Police would need to be legally represented at the inquest if he was raising issues with their investigation.
"With these surprise tactics on issues that weren't in your opening [statement], we're suddenly in a situation where we're about that far from having a problem," Mr Currie said.
Mr Lawrence SC said investigations into Aboriginal deaths in custody should be "thorough and comprehensive".
The inquest will continue on Wednesday.
