Police can’t find bullets allegedly fired by gunman slain in 2015 siege, Coroner told

POLICE have failed to recover a single bullet fired by a gunman they killed in a 2015 siege — now the State Coroner wants to know whether key evidence is being kept from him.

SA State Coroner Mark Johns, pictured in his office.

POLICE have failed to recover a single bullet fired by a gunman they killed in a 2015 siege, despite officers’ claims they heard projectiles “passing through the trees” toward them.

The shock concession, by the state’s top murder cop ahead of a formal inquest, has prompted the State Coroner to ask whether key evidence is being kept from him.

Coroner Mark Johns and Major Crime Investigations Branch officer in charge Detective Superintendent Des Bray have clashed over a ballistics report due to be filed over the death of Alexander Kuskoff.

Det-Supt Bray said it would be tendered after SA Police’s Investigational Assurance, Ethics and Professional Standards and General Counsel departments had seen it.

In pre-inquest transcript released to The Advertiser, Mr Johns was unimpressed by that submission.

“I’m at a loss to know what a section that presumably provides legal advice could do other than find information that someone thinks should not be shown to me,” he replied.

“One thing I can be sure of is that I won’t see it before all these other sections have been through it, reviewed it and amended it to their own satisfaction.”

The property at Elwomple, near Tailem Bend, where Alexander Kuskoff was shot and killed. Picture: Calum Robertson.

Mr Kuskoff, 50, was shot and killed by a STAR Group operative at Elwomple, near Tailem Bend, in September 2015.

Prior to the incident, his relatives had sought mental health triage for him, and he had made 000 calls threatening to “shoot and bomb everyone”.

SA Police subsequently attended Ms Kuskoff’s farm to check his firearms registration, and he confronted them carrying a Russian-made 6.5mm rifle and a 9mm pistol.

STAR Group was called in and, after five hours, an operative using night-vision equipment shot Mr Kuskoff three times, striking him in the wrist, chest and abdomen, and killed him.

Under state law, his case is deemed to be a death in custody and is therefore the subject of a coronial inquest.

On Monday, the court released transcript of a pre-inquest directions hearing to The Advertiser.

In it, counsel assisting the coroner Naomi Kereru said investigations had confirmed the operative who fired the fatal shots was the person who decided “to use lethal force”.

“Mr Kuskoff repeatedly levelled and aimed his gun in their direction and they heard projectiles passing through the trees and hit the ground around their position,” she said.

She said the operative fired at Mr Kuskoff from 139m away and that the incident was recorded by a police helicopter flying overhead.

“However, the night vision in the helicopter was in the process of changing settings, thereby damaging the integrity of the footage,” she said.

Giving evidence, Det-Supt Bray said the investigation was being led by an officer from outside Major Crime due to workload issues.

Ms Kereru asked if the ballistics report “or any other part of the investigation” had located the bullets allegedly fired by Mr Kuskoff.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray. Picture: Mark Brake.

“No projectile that was fired in the direction of police, no,” Det-Supt Bray said.

“A lot of the shots were in the air or into bushes ... we’ve recovered spent casings, cartridges but not the projectiles.

“There are no projectiles that have been recovered that can be linked back to the gun that Mr Kuskoff was holding.”

He said there was nothing concerning about the ballistics report being seen by SA Police departments before going to Mr Johns.

“Until it’s completely finished, it will also go elsewhere for review,” he said.

“If there’s any issues that need to be identified, we would address those issues and make sure that what the Coroner gets is everything in the report, complete.

“You can take comfort in the fact that I will not be pressured into doing something in a report that I’m not comfortable with.”

Asked, by Mr Johns, whether he would be provided an amended version of the report, Det-Supt Bray said he “could not answer that”.

Mr Johns replied: “The answer to my question, then, is ‘yes’.”

He adjourned the inquest to a date to be set.

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