Dying Rose | Lyla Nettle’s boyfriend admits injecting her with meth, but denies killing her

The mother of a woman who died on the side of busy Port Wakefield Rd says police wouldn’t follow up on her death – no matter how much information she gave them.

Police told a distraught mother it was impossible to prove her daughter was injected with meth by her then-boyfriend – until he admitted it to The Advertiser years later, but denied that he killed her.

Sue Nowland was told by police her daughter, 39-year-old Whajuk Noongar and Bibbulman woman Lyla Nettle, had taken her own life in May 2019, but she felt they had not properly investigated.

Even her ex-boyfriend Jason (a pseudonym) was shocked police never drug tested him, saying he thought he would have been under more scrutiny after Lyla’s death.

“You know when a partner, wife goes missing or dies, the cameras are there and the next thing you know everyone’s saying, ‘this bloke’s guilty’,” Jason said.

“That’s what I was picturing, I was picturing that I was going to have cameras in my face any minute.”

Amid her grief, Sue moved to Bali in the years after her daughter’s death – fearing she would never find out more about what happened that night.

That was until The Advertiser’s Dying Rose podcast – which is investigating the deaths of six First Nations women and girls – tracked down Jason and got answers.

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

DYING ROSE PODCAST

Listen to the podcast here, or find Dying Rose on the Apple Podcasts app

Jason, now 52 and still using drugs, said he still “feels responsible” for Lyla’s death – but adamantly denied having any involvement in her final moments.

“That’s never going to leave me, ever … a life lost too young,” he said in an interview at Elizabeth Shopping Centre earlier this month.

Lyla’s autopsy report said she and Jason had argued the night before her death on the side of busy Port Wakefield Rd in Adelaide’s north.

Jason told police he got in his car to go to sleep between 7pm and 8pm – and did not see her alive after that. It was only about 8:30am, when he woke, that he said he discovered Lyla’s body a few metres from the car.

But Sue raised questions over how Jason, a known methylamphetamine user, could have gone to sleep at 8pm and only woken 12 hours later.

“On ice they go all day, all night,” she said.

Sue said that Lyla had been introduced to the illicit drug ice by Jason, who told her it would enhance the couple’s sex life.

Lyla had been upfront to Sue about her drug use and said that, because she was scared of needles, Jason would inject her.

Lyla Nettle, 39, was found dead in an embankment on the side of a busy highway. Picture: Supplied

The autopsy report found “a relatively high level of methylamphetamine” in Lyla’s system – high enough to cause an overdose in some cases but it was not the cause of her death, which was determined to be hanging.

The pathologist said there was no finding that would indicate the involvement of another person in Lyla’s death – but also could not “exclude the actions of another party”, which may not have left a mark.

Sue feared there was more to her daughter’s final moments than police had discovered and laid out her concerns in a series of emails to an SA Police detective, seen by The Advertiser.

After first emailing police in 2019, Sue was at times left waiting weeks or months for a reply to her pleas for information.

“We weren’t being listened to. I gave them so much information,” Sue said.

“But they wouldn’t even follow it up – they just kept saying, ‘No, we’ve done everything. She suicided. Your daughter suicided.”

Police told Sue that Jason had told them he had no knowledge of Lyla taking drugs and that they “could not prove on this occasion” he had injected her with methylamphetamine.

Lyla’s mum Sue Nowland said police told her they could never prove Jason injected her with ice before she died – but he admitted it himself. Picture: Supplied

Speaking to The Advertiser, Jason claimed Lyla had been smoking and drinking ice before they met, but acknowledged he had introduced her to the needle and admitted that he would “for sure” have injected her the week of her death.

He could not remember if he injected her on the day she died.

When asked if he had told police he did not know Lyla was taking drugs, Jason said he “wouldn’t have told (them) that”.

“I know damn well she is. Why would I say that? It’s a stupid thing to say,” he said.

Jason said he and Lyla had been going without sleep “all week” – which he said explained why he was unaware she had taken her own life just metres away.

“I got in the back of the car and virtually as soon as I laid down I was out cold,” he said.

“She was outside the car … I heard her outside for a while and then it was just quiet.

Lyla Nettle was found dead in May 2019 in a parking area on Port Wakefield Rd at Bolivar. Picture: Kathryn Bermingham

Sue Nowland set up a memorial for her daughter, Lyla Nettle, at the roadside embankment where she died. Picture: Kathryn Bermingham

“I got up for a piss and I looked down and her stuff was there. I thought that was a bit odd so I picked them up, put them in the car.

“I fell back asleep, woke up in the morning. I walked over to the fence, took a piss and then I just happened to look down – and there she was on the ground.

“I yelled and yelled, she didn’t move. I raced down there, I grabbed her and she was so stiff … I still have flashbacks.”

He admitted injecting her with ice on a number of occasions, which he said was “probably the catalyst that pushed her over the edge” but he said he “didn’t want her to die”

“I should have never done that, and I have to live with that for the rest of my life,” he said.

“I honestly don’t believe she wanted to kill herself. I choose to believe that she was just crying out for help … I get sick every time I go down Port Wakefield Rd, I don’t go down there anymore.

“At the end of the day, it’s a suicide, that’s all it was.”

SA Police declined to respond to a number of assertions about Lyla’s death. The Coroner’s Court declined to release files on Lyla’s death on the basis the matter was not heard at inquest.

Lyla is one of six Aboriginal women whose cases are being investigated by The Advertiser in Dying Rose, a podcast in which their families ask whether police properly responded to their deaths.

DYING ROSE PODCAST

Listen to all the episodes here, or find them on the Apple Podcasts app

REACH OUT FOR HELP

While the media generally avoids reporting details about suicide, to understand the families’ concerns about these cases it is important to give the full context of these tragic deaths.

* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders requiring crisis support can call 13YARN (13 92 76)

* Anyone needing help with issues of mental health or depression can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636

* If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual abuse or family violence, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

* Men experiencing anger or relationship issues can call Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491