Inquest into overdose deaths of Michael Hodgkinson, Abdul El Sayed, Tom Vale, and Carly Morse hears from families demanding justice
Police have uncovered encrypted messages from a cocaine dealer who sold drugs laced with a lethal synthetic opioid.
North
Don't miss out on the headlines from North. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Four friends likely died within minutes of each other after snorting lines of cocaine that had been cut with deadly synthetic nitazines, an inquest into their deaths has heard.
Michael Hodgkinson, 37, Abdul El Sayed, 17, Tom Vale, 32, and Carly Morse, 42, all died in a flat on Bicknell Court in Broadmeadows the early hours of June 24 last year.
An inquest into their deaths heard 23 Victorians had died after overdosing on nitazines since 2021, which drug cooks are known to add to other illicit substances.
Associate Professor Dimitri Gerostamoulos told the inquest the deadly substance could be between 50 and 500 times as potent as heroin.
Prof Gerostamoulos said there had been a “really significant” increase in the drug being detected in the past five years, with just two deaths in 2021, but nine in 2023, and seven last year.
He said very few drug users sought out nitazines, which were so potent they posed a risk to paramedics and police inhaling tiny amounts of them at crime scenes.
“These are really problematic illicit drugs,” Prof Gerostamoulos said.
“These are not drugs that are desired by illicit drug users.”
As recently as Monday, Queensland authorities issued a public warning over black market painkillers laced with nitazines.
The inquest heard Mr Hodginkson purchased the deadly bag of cocaine in the CBD after contacting a dealer known as “Try Me” on the encrypted app Signal.
Police are yet to make any arrests over the four deaths.
Ms Morse’s parents, Robert and Lorna Morse, said whoever laced the cocaine with nitazines “killed our daughter and three others”.
“Someone needs to be held accountable for taking our daughters life,” the couple said in a joint statement.
They said Carly, a former childcare worker, first became addicted to prescription pain killers and fell back into drug use after a much-needed operation was delayed by more than a year, leaving her in unbearable pain.
“She was out baby daughter, and we have to try to live without her,” they said.
“Drugs did not define who Carly was.
“Carly had a great sense of humour and a beautiful, kind heart.”
Mr Hodgkinson’s sister, Nicole Hodgkinson, said her brother wasn’t “just a statistic on a piece of paper”.
“(He was) my baby brother, the baby I wrapped in my arms when he was born.”
Mr Hodgkinson was physically and psychologically abused by his stepfather for years, and another of his sisters, Jamie, told the inquest “any one of us siblings could have gone down the path he did”.
One of Mr El Sayed’s aunts, Bianca Lewis, said her nephew was a proud young father to his baby daughter, and “always wore a smile” despite his troubled childhood.
“He wasn’t just a nephew, he was like a son to me,” she said.
Another aunt, Fatima El Terek, said her nephew “would never have taken those drugs if he knew it was laced with nitazines”.
“He never intended to die that fateful day.”
Ms El Terek said her family hoped authorities would track down the dealer who sold the cocaine, but had heard little from police.
“These are four individuals who had a life and a future. All four deserve justice.”
Coroner David Ryan is expected to hand down his findings in coming days.
Lower Plenty survives late scare to end winless run
Lower Plenty put an end to its seven-game losing streak against Old Paradians but not without some late drama.
‘It would save lives’: New app could solve delayed calls for help
New technology which allows people to text lifesaving information and images of incidents to triple-0 has been pitched as a solution to improve long wait times for help.