Tyrone was just 15 when he died of a heroin overdose while in state care

A 15-year-old boy who died of a heroin overdose on the bathroom floor of his mother’s home, a few hundred metres from Richmond’s supervised injecting room, was in state care at the time.

An inquest on Tuesday into the death of Tyrone Woxvold heard the teenager had been using illicit drugs while in the care of child protection for some time, but had expressed an intention to seek help for his drug habit only weeks before his death.

Tyrone Woxvold, 15, died of a drug overdose in 2019. His mother, Carolyn (pictured with him), believed her son wanted help.

Coroner Sarah Gebert said young people in the state’s care were among the most vulnerable members of the community.

Gebert noted Tyrone had a long history with child protection and was subject to a care order at the time of his death.

Sometime before his fatal overdose in November 2019, it became apparent that despite his young age, Tyrone had developed a drug habit, the coroner said.

She said that during his last consultation with healthcare workers, on October 28 that year, Tyrone said he intended to see a drug and alcohol worker that day to start on the Suboxone program, which treats opioid addictions.

Tyrone with the family dog, Angel.

“Devastatingly, Tyrone’s mother found him unresponsive at her residence on the morning of November 24, 2019,” Gebert said. “Ambulance Victoria paramedics arrived and his death was confirmed at 8.30am. His mother identified him at the scene.”

The inquest heard Tyrone died from heroin and methamphetamine toxicity and police found no suspicious circumstances.

The coroner found Tyrone died as an unintended consequence of the drugs he consumed.

Gebert said that as part of her investigation, she received a statement from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, which outlined its involvement with Tyrone.

She also asked the department whether there had been a harm review, if there were any changes as a result of the 15-year-old’s death, what systemic improvements could be made, and what, if any, issues and challenges it had highlighted.

The inquest heard that since Tyrone’s death, there had been changes to the child protection system, including plans to strengthen relationships between child protection and health practitioners.

A new risk assessment model and therapeutic residential care home funding were also being prioritised to assist in trauma recovery.

“Young people living in residential care ... are among the most precious and vulnerable members of the community. I hope the changes will go some way to prevent such a traumatic death in the future,” Gebert said. “I extend my sympathies to Tyrone’s mother for the most tragic of losses.”

Tyrone’s mother said in 2019 that he didn’t want to die.

In the days after Tyrone’s death, his mother, Carolyn Woxvold, told this masthead her son was a cheeky boy who loved his family dog. But as he grew up, she said, the son she knew started to “lose his smile a bit more each day”, as he was introduced to drugs in his early teens and began using ice.

In 2019, she remembered Tyrone as her pride and joy and said all he ever wanted was to be by her side.

But Woxvold said that when Tyrone was a baby, her husband – Tyrone’s father – died and she moved her son into his grandfather’s care. While she believed she was making good choices for her son, he became lost and struggled to find where he belonged.

On the day of his death, Tyrone spent time at his mother’s home, a small flat in Richmond where she cared for an older friend.

At the time, Woxvold said she believed her son continued using drugs partially because it helped him lose weight, but he quickly became addicted.

She said she knew Tyrone used ice but believed he used heroin for the first time on the day of his death, as it was the next best thing he could get his hands on. She said her son did not want to die.

Woxvold said her situation was made harder by cracks in the system that was meant to protect her son, and that the services and support he wanted weren’t available when he needed them most.

The coroner’s full investigation will be published in coming days. Gebert said her report would include a reference to the June 2023 Child Death Inquiry report from the Commission of Children and Young People.

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