Joshua Denne dead at Humpty Doo property 101 days after partner Veronica Wellings died
A man who allegedly assaulted, choked and threatened to kill a beloved Territory singer and mum has been found dead, 101 days after she died in suspicious circumstances.
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The partner of a beloved musician who died in suspicious circumstances has been discovered dead outside his Humpty Doo home.
On Friday Darwin Local Court Judge Tanya Fong Lim heard that Joshua Mark Denne passed away on Wednesday May 28 — 101 days after his partner and mother-of-three Veronica Wellings died in hospital under suspicious circumstances.
NT Police have confirmed the 39-year-old’s body was found outside his Humpty Doo home around 11am, Wednesday May 28, following a request for a welfare check.
A spokesman said a report would be prepared for the coroner, and the circumstances of the death are not believed to be suspicious.
Mr Denne’s death came a week before he was due to face a Darwin Local Court hearing to face four counts of aggravated assault, choking, making threats to kill and using a carriage service to harass his partner, Ms Wellings.
The court has previously heard the 39-year-old man had repeatedly assaulted the beloved Territory singer in 2024, including threatening to murder her, choking her and leaving threatening phone calls and texts, voicemail recordings.
In November, Judge Stephen Geary was told there were serious concerns for Ms Wellings’ safety if the former Darwin soldier were to be released on bail.
“We have concerns if this defendant should be granted bail that her safety will not be guaranteed,” Prosecutor Ruby Preece said.
While he acknowledged they were “serious allegations”, Mr Geary was told the risks could be moderated by a supervised bail plan, including a non-contact order and wearing an electronic monitoring device.
In a warning directly to Mr Denne, Mr Geary stated: “If you go anywhere near Ms Wellings, anywhere near her, that will come up on the EMD and that will be the end of bail”.
Two months later, paramedics received reports of a “seriously ill woman” at Ms Denne’s Humpty Doo home at 9pm, on Monday February 17.
Ms Wellings was rushed to Royal Darwin Hospital in a critical condition, but later died.
At the time Ms Wellings had a full non-contact order against Mr Denne and her family told the NT News she had been living in a domestic violence safe house in Alice Springs, and had only recently returned to the Top End before her death.
NT Police declared a crime scene at the rural residence and Mr Denne was arrested and was “assisting police with inquiries”.
Two days later he was released on bail, charged with breaching both his bail and the full non-contact domestic violence order against Ms Wellings.
Assistant Commissioner Domestic Violence and Youth, Michael White said there was no requirement for Mr Denne to remain in custody, and no evidence he was involved in Ms Wellings’ death.
In February, Mr White said an autopsy failed to identify a clear cause of death, stating: “At this stage the indication is she died of a medical condition, but obviously we’re looking at what was the cause of that condition in the first place”.
On Friday, Prosecutor Lachlan Macdonald told the court that Mr Denne passed away the week before a hearing was meant to begin over the allegation he assaulted Ms Wellings, and then breached his bail and the DVO on the day of her death.
Mr MacDonald said the “court doesn’t have jurisdiction” to continue criminal proceedings against a dead man, and asked for the case to be “abated”.
“This doesn’t occur very often, but our position is that proceedings are to be abated, not withdrawn and dismissed,” he said.
Police confirmed that the investigation into Ms Wellings death “Operation Cobark” was still ongoing, with major crime investigators still treating her death as suspicious.
“The cause of the 40-year-old woman’s death remains undetermined,” a spokesman said.
The Coroner’s officer also confirmed the “circumstances and cause of her death” were still under investigation, and no decision had been made yet as to whether an inquest would be held.
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Originally published as Joshua Denne dead at Humpty Doo property 101 days after partner Veronica Wellings died
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