Sam Brown death: Coroner waiting for expert to help unlock rising Aussie rules player’s mysterious death

Sam Brown was last seen alive drunk, shoeless and walking along the highway before he was found with fatal head injuries on the side of a Gold Coast road. A decade later it is still not clear what happened.

THE key to unlocking the mysterious death of a promising footballer almost 10 years ago lies with evidence from a final specialist, according to the coroner’s court.

Sam Brown, 20, was last seen alive on November 25, 2012.

He was shoeless, drunk and had no working mobile phone while walking along the Gold Coast Highway at Mermaid Beach.

Mr Brown, a promising Aussie rules player for the Burleigh Bombers, was found about 2.30am – about half an hour after a friend left him – with fatal head injuries.

In early 2018, a coronial inquest into his death was adjourned after days of grilling witnesses failed to find the reason he died.

A Coroner’s Court of Queensland spokesman told the Bulletin this month: “The investigation team has liaised with a number of experts since the inquest was adjourned, obtained an additional opinion and is awaiting the opinion of one final specialist.

“Coroners will always take as much time as necessary to ensure investigations are completed as thoroughly as possible.”

The spokesman said inquest investigations could be “highly complex matters and under those circumstances, very time-consuming”.

The inquest has been listed as “adjourned for hearing”. No date has been specified.

In March this year the Bulletin was told the inquest had been delayed due to difficulties finding a biomechanical engineer who specialised in head injuries.

The delay has meant the original coroner who presided over the inquest has retired.

“The handover to Coroner (Stephanie) Gallagher, due to the retirement of Coroner (James) McDougall, has not and will not impact the progress of the investigation,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman said Mr Brown’s next-of-kin was regularly informed about the investigation.

Mystery has surrounded what happened to Mr Brown.

The coronial inquest in March 2018 was told that he and his friend Robert Cosgrove were walking from a party in Mermaid Beach to Broadbeach where they hoped to go clubbing.

Mr Cosgrove revealed for the first time at the inquest that he left Mr Brown drunk, shoeless and without a mobile to meet a girl.

About half an hour later Mr Brown was found with severe injuries. He died in hospital.

Former taxi driver Justin Hartley was originally charged over Mr Brown’s death. Police alleged he struck Mr Brown with his car.

The charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Police forensic crash investigator Senior Constable Steve Cornish told the inquest in March 2018 he had concluded that Mr Brown was not struck by a car.

He said none of the main factors that usually occurred in pedestrian accidents were at the seen, including debris or road rash on Mr Brown.

Gold Coast University Hospital senior intensive care special Dr Gregory Comadira told the inquest in March 2018 that Mr Brown’s injury was consistent with a “high speed injury”.

“He didn’t fall from a standing height,” he said.

Follow @leae