Dying Rose | ‘Go home and have a cup of tea’: Police officer’s shocking reaction to violent boyfriend after NSW teen’s death

Charli was just 17 when she was found dead in a toilet block by her abusive boyfriend. What police did next left her mum horrified and angry.

A 17-year-old girl found dead in a men’s toilet block by her violent boyfriend, who had threatened to kill her, raised no alarm bells for police – with the girl’s mother now haunted by questions about what really happened to her child.

Sharon Moore has lashed NSW Police over their handling of the death of Charli Powell after her body was found in Queanbeyan, near Canberra, in 2019.

The NSW Deputy Coroner ultimately ruled Charli’s death was “intentionally self-inflicted in the context of domestic violence”, but said “somewhat naive” police missed their opportunity to question her boyfriend about the circumstances.

Despite knowing of a warrant out for his arrest, a senior constable told him to “go home (and) have a cup of tea” – and officers then didn’t interview him about the teenager’s death for more than eight months.

When the interview did eventually take place, it was conducted in an “ad hoc manner” without preparation and at a time he had been using drugs and was facing considerable jail time for other offences.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story contains images and voices of people who have died.

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A young Wiradjuri woman who was “full of fun, loved to laugh” and had everything to live for, Charli’s death was ruled to be a suicide by NSW Police.

The Advertiser is examining Charli’s case as part of Dying Rose, a podcast investigation into the deaths of six Aboriginal women.

Charli had been known to police before her death – and Sharon believes this history led police to dismiss her concerns about the investigation.

When she was 15, Charli met Logan (a pseudonym) – her first serious boyfriend. But Sharon said the relationship quickly turned violent.

Charli Powell was found dead by her violent boyfriend in 2019. Picture: Supplied by family

Police ruled Charli’s death to be suicide, but her mother raised questions over the investigation. Picture: Supplied by family

“She fell in love hard, it was a first boyfriend. But then … I’ve been through domestic violence and just sort of started picking up on some things that didn’t seem right to me,” she said.

“She actually told me that he used to choke her until she passed out. I was just shocked at what she had to go through.”

Charli’s best friend, Kaitlin Sanderson, said she had been trying to leave the relationship for weeks – but had been met with violent threats from Logan.

“On multiple, probably three occasions, (Logan) threatened to kill her. One time I remember she said she was gonna break up with him and he threatened to come kill her or stab her multiple times,” she said.

On February 10, 2019, Charli was staying with Logan at his mother’s house in Queanbeyan. Just after 8pm that night, Logan’s mother left for work. Logan gave two different accounts of happened next.

At the scene, he told a paramedic Charli “couldn’t stay at his house”.

Charli’s mum Sharon Moore and Kaitlin Sanderson, Charli's best friend, still have questions about her death. Picture: Martin Ollman

In his interview more than eight months later, he said he and Charli had a fight at around 3am because she didn’t want to sleep on the couch, and that argument was exacerbated because he had smoked the last of the cannabis they had.

Logan told police that Charli rang him a short time after their fight and told him she was “going a toilet block to kill herself”.

He then claimed he discovered Charli’s body inside the entrance to the male public bathrooms at Freebody Oval, about a kilometre from his home.

But instead of arresting Logan at the scene and taking him for questioning over his outstanding charges, a NSW Police senior constable told him to “go home, have a cup of tea, coffee, get physically sorted out and then come back to the police station”.

Police did not catch up with Logan for more than eight months, until he was arrested on unrelated matters.

Coroner slams police

Sharon believes police ruled Charli’s death a suicide “from the moment they arrived” and never questioned Logan’s version of events, despite his history of violence towards her daughter.

She said the decision to send him for “a cup of tea” could have impacted crucial evidence and believed he should have been arrested and interviewed that day.

While more than four years have passed since Charli’s death, Sharon remains haunted by questions around her daughter’s final moments.

“Charli couldn’t stand the smell of male toilets. She used to say, ‘Why do they stink so bad mum? They’re putrid’,” she said.

“I still cannot see her walking to a male’s toilet to end her life when there’s a female block directly beside it. That was what stood out most of all to me, was the male toilet block.”

In March 2022, more than three years after Charli’s death, a coronial inquest was launched in NSW.

The men’s toilet block in Queanbeyan, NSW, where Charli Powell was found dead. Picture: Kathryn Bermingham

The coroner said the decision not to interview Charli’s abusive boyfriend was “naive”. Picture: Supplied by family

Deputy Coroner Harriet Grahame said the inquest, heard over four days, was “very distressing” and conceded that Charli’s family would not find comfort in the result.

“Her death may well have been an impulsive act, but she had been subjected to significant verbal and physical abuse in the months before she took her own life,” Ms Grahame said.

“I have no doubt that impacted on the decision she made.”

In findings delivered last October, Ms Grahame was highly critical of the police response, in particular the decision to send Logan home instead of arresting him following Charli’s death.

She said “no immediate or detailed account was taken from the only person who had been with Charli in the period just prior to her death … unfortunately, the decision has unnecessarily increased suspicions in this case”.

In a statement, NSW Police said a comprehensive review of the coronial findings was underway, and any recommendations directed to police would be considered.

But Sharon says she is no closer to understanding why police acted the way they did.

“When you’ve got someone like him in front of you, you grab him. I can’t get my head around all of it … I’m still reeling from it,” she said.

“Charli was so strong-minded, when she always knew that tomorrow was a better day, it didn’t matter what was going on.

“There’s too much that I can’t explain for it to be so clear-cut … I’m still fighting for Charli – it’s the last fight that I get to fight for her.”