Alexander Kuskoff inquest: STAR Group sniper shot dead delusional scientist 139m away with hollow-point bullets, court hears

A STAR Group sniper used night-vision goggles and controversial hollow-point bullets banned in war zones to fatally shoot a mentally ill former scientist who had declared himself the tsar, an Adelaide inquest has heard.

SES at the scene of the shooting in Elwomple, near Tailem Bend. Picture: Dylan Coker

• Neighbours described Mr Kuskoff as kind and gentle after siege
• Helicopter vision of the shooting is defective ...
• Police can’t find the bullets Mr Kuskoff allegedly fired ...
• And they want permanent anonymity for the STAR Group officers

A STAR Group sniper fatally shot a mentally ill former scientist with hollow-point bullets banned in warzones and designed to cause “maximum damage” to their target, a coroner’s inquest has heard.

Former industrial chemist Alexander Kuskoff was suffering delusions and psychosis when he was shot dead at his Elwomple farm on the night of September 16, 2015.

Deputy State Coroner Anthony Schapel on Friday heard Mr Kuskoff, 50, was shot twice from a distance of 139 metres by a STAR Group officer using night-vision goggles.

Mr Kuskoff had fired a number of shots into the air after making repeated rambling calls to police — played in court — in which he declared his farm as the “state of Elwomple” and himself as the tsar.

Counsel assisting the Coroner, Andrew Harris QC, told the inquest STAR Group police were called to assist uniformed officers who Mr Kuskoff had threatened to shoot if they entered his property, which he claimed would have been a declaration of war.

Mr Kuskoff was shot twice by a STAR Group sniper. File image.

Mr Harris said the STAR Group officer who fired the shots, identified only by the initials DA, said he fired three shots because he feared for his life and that of a colleague positioned nearby.

“(The officer) stated that he believed Mr Kuskoff was shooting randomly in their direction, that the bullets that he fired hit light foliage near their position,” Mr Harris said.

Mr Harris said the court would need to consider whether the intention of the sniper was to kill Mr Kuskoff.

Hollow-point bullets were banned in warfare by The Hague Convention of 1899, but are still used by police in many countries and the US Army, which did not sign the convention.

“This bullet is designed in such a way by virtue of its hollow tip to cause maximum damage to internal organs of any body that it hits, by increasing diameter once hitting the target,” Mr Harris said.

“The deployment of this type of bullet would tend to suggest that the expected outcome was to kill the target, and it would follow that an operative who fired it would be under no apprehension to the contrary.

Hollow-point bullets were banned in warfare but still used by police in many countries. File image.

“One matter for Your Honour to consider in this inquest is whether or not (the officer’s) intention in firing at Mr Kuskoff was to fatally wound him.

“It’s an issue for Your Honour to consider whether a STAR officer in the position of DA, who considers the circumstances as justifying the firing of their weapon, could or should do anything else than shoot to kill.”

Mr Harris said police protocol was breached by allowing the two STAR Group officers to remain together for some time after the shooting.

“In the immediate aftermath of the shooting there was a substantial period of time where the officers DA and AM were together and not separated as mandated by general orders,” he said.

“It’s an issue for Your Honour to consider if this failure to separate the operatives as quickly as possible has any effect of compromising their evidence.”

Police near the scene of the siege in Elwomple. Picture: Dylan Coker

Mr Kuskoff’s sister, Lennah Liemareff, is representing her family at the inquest and told the court she believed her brother’s death could have been avoided.

Ms Liemareff said she may have been able to help her brother if she had known how mentally ill he had become after hearing the disturbing call, made a day before his death, played in court.

“I believe at that point maybe things could have actually turned to the better rather than catapulting things in the wrong direction,” she said.

The inquest heard Mr Kuskoff previously worked as an industrial chemist and had likely suffered undiagnosed mental illness for some years. His health had declined after the deaths of his parents in 2012.

The inquest will resume after the Full Court next week rules on whether the identities of the STAR Group officers can be publicly revealed.

The Police Commissioner has appealed against Mr Schapel’s ruling that they should not be suppressed, arguing that publication of their names could compromise their personal safety.