Unclaimed bodies in SA, and what happens when there’s no next of kin

Death is already a lonely experience, but imagine if police couldn’t find someone to bury you after you die? This is the case for more than 100 people in SA each year.

Imagine feeling lonely even after you have died.

When a life ends, the usual process is reporting the death to authorities, mourning the tragedy and planning a funeral service.

But what happens to your body if you do not have any surviving loved ones and authorities are not able to contact your next of kin?

There are more than 100 cases like this each year in South Australia when a person’s body is declared “unclaimed”, meaning police are not able to locate someone’s living relatives.

For Christos Sophou, he just wants his dear friend to be farewelled in dignity. Mr Sophou, from Victoria, began contacting hospitals when he had not heard from his friend Egon Russell, 67, for weeks.

Egon Russell died in late May 2022. Picture: Facebook

“When he wasn’t responding to my social media messages, I began to feel afraid that something untoward had happened,” Mr Sophou said.

Mr Russell lived on Kangaroo Island for many years but moved to Christies Beach to be closer to hospitals for medical treatments.

“I started messaging hospitals, the council for Kangaroo Island and the Onkaparinga Council to see if they had any information on his death to see if there was a funeral service or something.”

Flinders Medical Centre eventually contacted him, declaring Mr Russell had died in late May 2022 but would not confirm the cause of death, which had been declared by a medical practitioner.

It is not known who reported suspicion to police over not seeing Mr Russell at his Ferris St home for some time.

His car was stolen on June 11 and relocated at Aldinga Beach but no charges have been laid over the theft.

The Public Trustee’s office eventually contacted Mr Sophou to declare they could not locate a next of kin for Mr Russell.

“His body is unclaimed because there is no family members or next of kin to claim his body so they can go ahead and have a funeral service,” Mr Sophou said.

“We don’t even have the dignity to give him a death notice so people aren’t aware that he’s dead.

“It’s a sad thing, and it shows that there are a lot of good people out there … and they’ve contributed to society and they’ve gone and passed away without anyone realising.

“They’ve been forgotten and nobody even knows to pay tribute to them.”

Mr Sophou remembers Mr Russell as a kind and caring man loved caring for animals.

“He was very caring … and a very giving person.”

Adelaide Cemetery Authority Pallbearers carry the remains of the Somerton Man at West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Public Trustee Nicolle Rantanen said when no next of kin was identified, the matter was referred to her as an unclaimed body.

“The Public Trustee will search for details of the deceased’s assets and liabilities,” she said.

“Where the total assets are under $3000, the matter is referred to Funeral Assistance SA to organise a burial and subsidise the cost.”

Every effort is made to ensure funeral arrangements can be finalised in a timely manner but remains can be stored within Forensic science SA for months and even years.

There are about 120 unclaimed bodies referred to Ms Rantanen every year, where about 50 are referred to Funeral Assistance, 50 are handled by Ms Rantanen.

Next of kin are usually located in the remaining cases.

Funeral Assistance SA paid for 272 services in 2021-22, of which an unknown amount were for unclaimed persons.

The Public Trustee co-ordinated five burials of unclaimed bodies within Adelaide Cemetarites in the same year.

A baby’s body was found in the women’s toilets on the third floor of the TAFESA city campus in October 2007. Despite a four month search and pleas for the infant’s mother to come forward, no family was ever located and the baby was declared unclaimed and unnamed. A simple service was conducted at Enfield Memorial Park in February 2008. Picture: Supplied

Adelaide Cemeteries chief executive officer Michael Robertson said every person buried within their sites, even those considered unclaimed, are respected and important.

“The team at Adelaide Cemetaries, we care for the grounds of the cemeteries but we treat all of our sites with the utmost respect,” Mr Robertson said.

“And while there might not be people who are of next of kin, like for Baby Boy, we make sure that the site is maintained and we do visit them as well.

“I’ve certainly been down there inspecting things, and you do see the site there and you will say hello.”