Aunty Donna Nelson gives emotional testimony to the first day of an inquest into her daughter Veronica Nelson’s death in custody

Veronica Nelson’s mother says the lessons from an inquest into her daughter’s death “must stop my people from dying in custody”.

Veronica Nelson with her partner of 20 years, Percy Lovett.

The mother of an Indigenous woman who died in custody while on remand for minor shoplifting offences says Victoria’s “broken” legal system failed her daughter.

Aboriginal woman, Veronica Nelson, 37, had been crying out for help for hours when she was found dead in her cell at the maximum security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne’s west on January 2, 2020.

On the first day of a five-week inquest at the Victorian Coroners Court, Veronica Nelson’s mother, Aunty Donna Nelson, fought back tears as she spoke of her daughter’s passing.

“This inquest is first and foremost about Veronica, and how a broken criminal justice system locked my daughter up and let her die while she begged for help, over and over,” Donna Nelson said on Tuesday.

Veronica Nelson was on remand when she was found dead in her cell in 2020.

“The lessons learned from this inquest must stop my people from dying in custody.”

An autopsy found Ms Nelson, who weighed just 33kg and had a distended stomach, died from Wilkie’s syndrome in the setting of withdrawal from chronic opiate use.

The inquest will probe Victoria’s bail laws, the adequacy of healthcare Ms Nelson received in prison and the influence of her Aboriginality on her death.

“She may have passed of natural causes but if it could have been avoided, it should have been,” counsel assisting the coroner, Sharon Lacy, said.

“She was detained and in state care, she was entitled to be treated with dignity in life and in passing.”

Ms Nelson was arrested three days before her death for shoplifting and bail offences.

Representing herself, Ms Nelson’s application for bail was refused after a magistrate found she did not meet the criteria for “exceptional circumstances”. The criteria was introduced after bail laws were tightened by the state government following the Bourke Street attack in 2017.

She was remanded in custody at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and spent two days in a prison medical centre before she was moved to a regular cell.

She was given anti-nausea drugs and pain relief to treat her vomiting and leg cramps.

Between 2am and 4am on the morning of her death, Ms Nelson called prison guards nine times asking for help.

An audio recording played to the inquest heard Ms Nelson screaming loudly with a guard telling her she was keeping other inmates awake.

Guards gave her socks and cordial but never checked on her in her cell, only speaking to her through a door flap and through an intercom system. Her body was discovered about 7.30am, in a pool of water on the floor, more than three hours after her last contact with prison staff. Ms Nelson’s partner of 20 years, Percy Lovett, described her as a strong woman who always helped others and cared deeply for her culture. “Veronica was my other half, we did everything together. We had plans for the future,” he said.

“Veronica shouldn’t have been in prison. She shouldn’t have died. I want to know what happened. I want someone to be held accountable.”

The inquest continues.