Khrys Vignes’ parents speak at inquest into the police shooting
The parents of a man who was shot and killed by police in Cairns have tearfully told an inquest how their son’s life fell apart after he was medically discharged from the army and spiralled into depression and drugs.
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The parents of a man who was shot and killed by police have tearfully told an inquest how their son’s life fell apart after he was medically discharged from the army and spiralled into depression and drugs.
The coronial inquest investigating the death of Mossman man Khrys Vignes in Cairns on March 29, 2020, heard from its last witnesses on Wednesday before final submissions are prepared for State Coroner Terry Ryan.
Mr Vignes’ family called for mandatory bodyworn cameras for SERT operatives during an emotional statement they had prepared for the court.
Mr Vignes’ mother Geraldine Vignes said Khrys was kind, generous, non-judgemental and fiercely protective of his younger brother.
But an injury sustained to his knee during his service in the army in 2016 was a turning point.
“He had two surgeries but he remained unfit for the army and was discharged on medical grounds,” Mr Vignes’ father Edward told the inquest.
“He became very depressed after he lost his dream job, his partner and the love of his life broke up with him and his dog died,” his mother added.
“His life from then on was not the life of the boy and man that everyone loved. This is when he became a victim of drug addiction.
“It is really unfortunate and heartbreaking that his life was cut so short.”
Craig Eberhardt KC, acting for the family, said because there was no body worn camera it was impossible to know exactly what occurred at the time of his death.
“If there was, we would have numerous contemporaneous accounts of what occurred,” he said.
The inquest heard from two forensic pathologists, one of whom conducted the autopsy on Mr Vignes and a second who reviewed that work.
Dr Paull Botterill said Mr Vignes had six distinct bullet wounds.
He said Mr Vignes was likely killed by a combination of a shot through the back which struck his lung and a further shot which struck him in the face and he would have died “within minutes”.
He agreed with an assertion made by Mr Eberhardt that these two shots would have occurred while Mr Vignes had his back to the shooter.
Dr Botterill told the court the order of the injuries could not be determined in examination.
“It is impossible to tell which order the wounds occurred and the exact positioning he was in when each occurred,” he said.
Dr Botterill added that methamphetamine intoxication was also a likely contributor to his death.
“It has the potential to change behaviour which could have led to the circumstances of his death,” he said.
Submissions will be tendered to the Coroner in the coming months before a final ruling at a later date.
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Originally published as Khrys Vignes’ parents speak at inquest into the police shooting
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