German backpacker’s farm death referred for prosecution

Criminal charges could be brought over the death of a German backpacker at a Qld avocado farm after a coroner found there was ‘reasonable suspicion’ of an offence after she was crushed under a mower.

Jennifer Kohl. Picture: Supplied

Criminal charges could be brought over the death of German backpacker Jennifer Kohl after a coroner found there was a “reasonable suspicion” that an offence may have been committed when she was crushed under a mower in a farming accident.

Ms Kohl, 27, and her boyfriend of seven years Paul Tunik had been living and working on a Tamborine Mountain avocado farm for about two weeks when she died in December 2017.

A coronial inquest found Ms Kohl and Mr Tunik had snuck away for a romantic encounter after finishing work for the day when the mower being driven by Mr Tunik overturned on a slope, crushing Ms Kohl who had been riding on the wheel arch.

After regaining consciousness, Mr Tunik frantically tried to remove the machine from Ms Kohl, calling emergency services and flagging down passers-by but she could not be saved.

A Workplace Health and Safety prosecution arising from Ms Kohl’s death was ultimately discontinued.

But Coroner Carol Lee who presided over a two-day inquest in May last year has now handed down findings, revealing she had “formed a reasonable suspicion that an indictable offence has been committed by Mr Tunik”.

Jennifer Kohl. Picture: Supplied

“Not having received a submission from Mr Tunik after affording him an opportunity to make a submission, I make a referral to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions,” the coroner said.

The farm owners gave evidence that in the aftermath of the accident, Mr Tunik said he had “coaxed Ms Kohl to ride on the mower with him as a romantic gesture”.

“Consequently, I find that Mr Tunik and Ms Kohl had completed the work that had been assigned to them on the day of the accident and had engaged in sexual intercourse in a disused and out of sight part of the property, on a joyride pretending the property was theirs,” the coroner said.

“Such activity on the mower was unauthorised and in departure from the instructions given to them.”

Jennifer Kohl. Picture: Supplied

She said the actions were not foreseeable by the owners of the farm.

Coroner Lee made recommendations including that the Department of Home Affairs consider creating a “one stop shop” webpage for visa applicants including information about workplace health and safety, as well as the laws and other protections at Australian workplaces.

She also recommended the Federal Government undertake a coordinated national study to build an evidence base for workplace safety risks specific to migrant workers to help inform future policy development.

“This was a tragic accident which resulted in the death of a young woman who was on a backpacking adventure, exploring Australia,” the coroner said.

“Her death has had an impact on many people, in particular her mother who travelled from Germany for the inquest.

“I express my sincere condolences for the loss suffered by Ms Kohl’s family. It is hoped that the coronial process and these findings will assist those people affected by Ms Kohl’s death to make some sense of the tragic accident.”

Originally published as German backpacker’s farm death referred for prosecution