Mawson Lakes apartment sword death: Here’s what happened to Darcy Norton

Eighteen hours before police faced “extremely confronting” scenes with the death of Darcy Norton, he’d been taken to hospital after another erratic outburst. Here’s what happened.

Two incidents 18 hours apart but linked by one man will be scrutinised in two reviews launched after the death of Globe Derby man Darcy Norton on Monday.

Police were confronted with graphic scenes when they forced their way into a Mawson Lakes apartment where 44-year-old Norton was armed with a sword.

Officers had responded to calls about the disturbance at 11.58pm Sunday, and negotiated with an agitated Norton before forcing their way inside.

Just 18 hours earlier, police had responded to reports of an agitated man in Lightsview – which was later confirmed to be Norton.

Here’s what we know.

What happened first

Police were called to a property in Lightsview at 5.27am Sunday where a man was “reportedly threatening people”, Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval said.

Officers on arrival noted a man was in an agitated state, and they stayed with him until an ambulance arrived.

He was taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital by ambulance.

However, it is understood he was not admitted and voluntarily left the hospital.

Darcy Norton, 44, died at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Picture: Facebook

What happened next

About 18 hours later, at 11.58pm, Mr Duval said police received “a number of triple-0 calls” from Mawson Lakes with reports a man had forced his way into a unit.

Mr Duval said the man – who was later identified as 44-year-old Darcy Norton – had “broken into a unit and was threatening a woman at the address with a sword”.

The 41-year-old woman, who lived at the address and is understood to be a former partner of Mr Norton’s, had barricaded herself inside a room in the two-bedroom unit.

Mr Duval said police could hear noises inside the unit and they tried to enter, but the door was barricaded.

“Police were able to get partial entry for access to the premises and saw that there was a man holding a sword, who was subsequently blocking the door,” Mr Duval said.

Two officers initially responded, but more arrived soon after.

The officers tried negotiating with the man, and then deployed a taser through the partially opened door but were unsuccessful in disarming Norton.

Cleaners at the Mawson Lakes apartment complex. Picture: Dylan Hogarth

A forensic officer on the balcony of an apartment on Metro Parade in Mawson Lakes. Picture: Dean Martin

They next tried spray through the door, still barricaded from the inside, but “they couldn’t see what effect that spray had”, Mr Duval said.

“Again, they were still negotiating with the man holding the sword,” Mr Duval said.

“They were then able to successfully deploy a taser and (that) allowed them to get entry into the unit.

“They then disarmed the man of the sword and restrained him, and it was then they saw the man had significant lacerations to his arms and his legs, and was suffering very severe injuries.”

Officers gave the man first aid while an ambulance was called.

That ambulance then took Norton to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where he later died.

Watch the press conference below

The link

Mr Duval on Monday afternoon said it was “now known” the man police responded to in Lightsview was the same man at the Mawson Lakes apartment complex – Darcy Norton.

Mr Duval said Norton and the woman were not in a relationship but “they have known each other for some years”.

“We are not treating this as a domestic incident,” he said.

“Just an incident between two people that are known to each other.”

He said there was no court order between the pair. The woman is not accused of any wrongdoing.

The scene and the response

Mr Duval described the scene inside the second-floor unit as “extremely confronting” for officers.

“They deployed all their training in an effort to firstly negotiate with the man to drop the sword, and then they were successfully able to do that,” he said.

“There was a significant amount of blood within the unit.

“This was an extremely confronting scene for those attending police.”

Darcy Norton. Picture: Facebook

What happens now

Norton’s death has been declared a death in custody and is subject to a coronial investigation.

That will be managed by a Major Crime Investigation section, and SAPOL has also launched a commission of inquiry to “examine the circumstances around the police attendance and the prior involvement with the man”.

SA Health will also review the care Norton received at the RAH after the earlier Lightsview incident.

No charges are expected to be filed as a result of the incident.

What’s known about Darcy Norton

Friends of 44-year-old Norton say they are shocked at what police say unfolded on Sunday.

Intermittently describing him as a “nice bloke” and a “great lad”, and someone who helped others.

Records show Norton was involved in harness racing, and police say he was from Globe Derby, a suburb of Salisbury.

Police say he was previously in a relationship with the 41-year-old resident, and a friend – who attended the apartment complex on Monday when the unit remained a crime scene – told The Advertiser Norton regularly visited the woman.

How neighbours reacted

On Tuesday, residents of the complex told The Advertiser they weren’t aware of the altercation between the man and the woman until police attended the scene.

One neighbour – who asked to remain anonymous – said it was a shocking discovery because the units are often “very quiet and peaceful”.

She revealed she had previously crossed paths with the 41-year-old victim.

“I haven’t properly connected with her but if I saw her at the building entrance or in the elevator, she would always be friendly with me,” the woman said.

“All of this has been so strange, knowing that a neighbour of mine was under real threat … it’s definitely too close to home.”