Coroner probing death of man after incident at Trinity College

A coroner is investigating the death of an intruder at a University of Melbourne residential college after it was discovered he had earlier been stopped by police.

The death of a man following an incident at a residential college is now the subject of a coronial inquest. Picture: File

A troubled intruder who died suddenly after an incident at a University of Melbourne residential college had been stopped by police just hours earlier.

Karim Aarras, 45, was discovered in a Trinity College store room having walked the streets agitated and screaming.

At one stage he repeatedly banged on the door of a nearby home, saying: “There is money in here, I need money”.

The Coroners Court is investigating the case in the hope of preventing similar deaths.

Mr Aarras — who was born in France and trained as a chef before moving to Australia and working as a labourer — had a history of mental health problems.

In 2005 when he suffered a back injury at work, chronic pain leading to longstanding depression.

Despite surgery he was unable to work and relied on opioid analgesics for pain relief, later turning to heroin and ice.

The day of his September 7, 2017 death Mr Aarras entered the University of Melbourne’s Parkville Campus about 6.20am — CCTV showing him yelling and waving his arms erratically and trying to get into a building.

A coroner is examining the death of a man following an incident at Trinity College, a residential college at the University of Melbourne. Picture: File

He was later found “upset and distressed” in the Trinity College kitchen store room — yelling in a foreign language.

Two workers locked themselves in a nearby office, a cleaning manager hearing Mr Aarras yell: “Why me, Allah? Why me” while pushing over tables and chairs in the cafeteria as several students arrived for breakfast.

Police responded and a violent scuffle followed — officers using OC foam, batons and punching.

Mr Aarras was handcuffed until paramedics arrived and taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

He was declared dead having suffered self-inflicted injuries.

A preliminary summary provided to the Coroners Court stated Mr Aarras earlier about 2.30am repeatedly knocked on the door of a North Melbourne house demanding money, the resident phoning police.

He then got into an altercation with a couple standing nearby, wrongly accusing a man of stealing before police told Mr Arras to go home.

A constable watched a “clearly unhappy” Mr Arras return to his Courtney Street apartment but said he’d not made any threats.

An inquest into Mr Arras’ death is mandatory.

He was on bail over attempted robbery and burglary charges.

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