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Devastated wife tells of her Aussie husband’s dying moments

An Aussie who died in Bali found it “really, really hard to breathe” moments before his death, his wife said.

The wife of an Aussie FIFO worker who died suddenly at his Bali home has spoken out about the terrifying moments before her husband’s death.

Police in Bali are carrying out forensic tests on two cans of tonic water a former WA mine worker drank before he died.

While Kevin James Nunn’s family wait for answers, officers have seized the expired drinks to rule out poisoning.

Police in Denpasar are trying to work out what led to the former Kalgoorlie FIFO worker’s sudden death in the home he shares with his wife Arianti and young daughter.

“I start to panic, I start to panic and I just screaming, I screaming,” Mrs Nunn told 7NEWS.

“He get hard to breathe, it’s very bad. Really, really bad.”

Australian man Kevin James Nunn with his wife Arianti Nunn in Bali. Picture: Facebook
Australian man Kevin James Nunn with his wife Arianti Nunn in Bali. Picture: Facebook

Part of the investigation surrounds two cans of expired tonic water. A few hours after drinking them, Nunn was dead.

His body was taken to a hospital in Denpasar where testing ruled out COVID-19 as the cause.

While his wife and family believe a heart attack may be to blame, police have seized the tonic water cans, which only expired two months ago.

They also want to perform an autopsy on the 58-year-old’s body to see if he was poisoned.

Aussie expats in Bali are often spotted obsessively wiping the tops of cans and bottles to avoid the rat urine-borne disease leptospirosis, which can be found on can and bottles worldwide.

“We should wait for the forensic team to find the cause of death,” a police spokesperson said.

Australian man Kevin James Nunn, who died in his Bali home. Picture: Facebook
Australian man Kevin James Nunn, who died in his Bali home. Picture: Facebook

“We found that he had drunk something that was expired but we don’t know yet whether it has caused the death.”

Nunn’s elderly parents in Perth don’t know what to believe and are happy to give permission for the autopsy.

“You want to go clinic or hospital? He said I want to go to the clinic. OK let’s go and then he said wait not yet,” Mrs Nunn said.

According to Denpasar’s chief of police, Jansen Avitus Panjaitan, Nunn started his day at 8.30am when he woke up and drank a coffee at his desk.

“At about around 8.00am the victim drank (a can of) Schweppes soft drink and started walking around the house. At 9.00am the victim told his wife Arianti that (he) felt sick on his chess, and around 10.00 the victim entered his room to lay down,” Mr Panjaitan said.

The body of Australian Kevin James Nunn is taken from his home in Bali. Picture: Supplied
The body of Australian Kevin James Nunn is taken from his home in Bali. Picture: Supplied

Nunn, who celebrated his birthday in Bali last month, then took malaria medication which his wife bought from a nearby chemist where she consulted a doctor.

Mrs Nunn gave her husband Bear Brand milk – a form of sweet condensed local milk in a can – which made Nunn vomit. It is understood that he drank whiskey and Coca-Cola the night before.

The Australian, who has lived in Bali for five years, then fell asleep at about 11.30am, according to police.

“The wife then contacted ambulance and when the COVID Task Force arrived they found the man had died. There are indications that the victim was poisoned,” Mr Panjaitan said.

Nunn’s body was taken to the Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar, where rapid testing for COVID-19 returned a negative result.

Christopher Steven Tolley was found dead in his hotel room in Bali. Picture: Supplied
Christopher Steven Tolley was found dead in his hotel room in Bali. Picture: Supplied

Nunn is the second Australian to die in Bali in as many days, and the third in a month.

The body of another Australian, Christopher Steven Tolley, 48, from Bankstown was discovered by house keeping staff at the Fave Hotel in the holiday island’s famous tourist hotspot of Seminyak.

And 31-year old Perth man, Rhodri Lloyd Thomas, was found dead in the pool of the stylish villa where he was living with his girlfriend in Bali’s trendy beach side area of Canggu on April 9. About 40 Australians die in Bali each year.

Rhodri Lloyd Thomas. Picture: Supplied
Rhodri Lloyd Thomas. Picture: Supplied
The passport of Australian Kevin James Nunn, whose body was found at his home in Bali. Picture: Supplied
The passport of Australian Kevin James Nunn, whose body was found at his home in Bali. Picture: Supplied

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/police-in-bali-say-there-are-signs-the-latest-aussie-to-die-in-the-island-paradise-was-poisoned/news-story/1cb5a3fdfc3567f3e94237c9327ff9f6