For more than two years, Debbie-Lee Gill has been laying in a morgue.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the image and name of a person who has died.
In life, the 40-year-old Wiradjuri woman faced more than most: alleged sexual assault, and giving birth to a stillborn child at age 19.
After Debbie-Lee's death, the pain has continued for her family, who say they're stuck in legal limbo in a bid to put her to rest.
The Central Coast woman died in January 2021, with her death ruled as a suicide by a NSW coroner.
Since then, her body has remained at John Hunter Hospital's Forensic Medicine Unit.
Debbie-Lee's family aren't convinced the mother-of-three died from suicide, and have been demanding further examination of her body.
Her sister, Cathy-May, said the process had been traumatic.
"Disbelief I suppose, shock. We sort of thought we're gonna see through this, it's not going to be long," she said.
"[But] it's turned into one month, two months ... and it's dragged on and on ... and she's still there two years on."
In NSW, police report sudden, unexpected or unexplained deaths to the coroner which are reviewed by specialist forensic medicine and investigative teams.
In the case where the manner and cause of the death is unclear, the coroner may direct an inquest be conducted.
An inquest is a court hearing where the coroner considers evidence to determine the identity of the deceased, and the date, place, manner and cause of death.
Witnesses may also be called to give evidence.
And, that's what Debbie-Lee's family want.
"We've been trying to get the coroner to gather evidence from her body," Cathy-May said.
"Ideally, we would like the DNA evidence and to put to her to rest how we want.
"We're absolutely not going to drop it."
In a letter to the family sent on July 26 last year, NSW Coroner Theresa O'Sullivan confirmed her "decision to decline to order a further autopsy in this matter".
In NSW, hospitals are allowed to keep a person's body in a mortuary for up to 21 days.
However, the NSW Health Secretary may in some cases grant a general approval for a body to be kept longer in "exceptional circumstances".
Debbie-Lee's family has taken their battle to the Supreme Court on two separate occasions.
One was to make Debbie-Lee's family senior next of kin — a role that was initially given to her former partner — but was eventually granted to Debbie-Lee's mother under Supreme Court orders in July 2021.
They're now back in court trying to overturn parts of the same order because it came with restrictions — imposed by both Debbie-Lee's former partner and the coroner — which relate to how the body can be handled.
Among them is that Debbie-Lee must be buried, not cremated, where her burial will take place, and that, on request, only female employees handle her body.
"We cannot cremate my sister [under these court orders]. She had always wanted to be cremated, she had her daughter cremated and she never wanted her daughter to be alone," Cathy-May said.
"If we do cremate, my mother will be taken to court for breach of Supreme Court orders."
In a statement, the NSW Coroner's Court said steps for the release of Debbie-Lee's body had been "finalised".
"The State Coroner is continuing to work with the family to try to ensure that a respectful repatriation of Ms Gill can occur in line with the families' wishes."
Cathy-May remembers her younger sister as a "wild, brutally honest" person who "never lied about anything".
She said her sister would want the family to keep fighting.
"It's difficult to even have a chance to miss her because we've just been fighting for two years, so it's just been difficult to process that she's gone".
"We had a memorial service because we had the funeral planned, family and friends came and we didn't have a body, so, we just had to go to a park."
