Coroner to probe the suspicious death of Elly Warren in Mozambique

A coroner will probe the mysterious death of 20-year-old Elly Warren as her mother calls for “some sort of closure”.

Elly Warren’s father Paul Warren travelled to Mozambique to investigate his daughter’s death. Picture: David Caird

A coroner has begged Australian authorities to “move heaven and earth” to get answers for the family of Elly Warren, who died in Mozambique under suspicious circumstances, before an inquest into her death begins.

The 20-year-old from Mordialloc in Melbourne’s southeast, who was volunteering in the African nation, was found dead near a toilet block in the coastal town of Tofo in 2016.

Her family has been calling for a probe into her death for years and on Monday pleaded with State Coroner John Cain to set a date for an inquest.

“We need some sort of closure from the courts to begin to heal,” Elly’s mum, Nicole Cafarella, told the court. “This has been an exhausting journey for us all.”

Elly Warren died in Mozambique two days before she was due to head home. Picture: Supplied

Judge Cain agreed the case must progress and said an inquest would begin in about three months’ time, after Australian authorities launch a last-ditch attempt to gather more information on the volunteer’s death.

The court heard Australian Federal Police has been trying to liaise with Mozambican authorities, who have sent a file on Elly’s case to the country’s public prosecutor’s office.

But Australian officials have not been provided with an update from their counterparts in months.

Elly, who had hoped to become a marine biologist, was found face down in the sand by local fisherman in November 2016, with her underwear around her knees.

Earlier in the directions hearing, Judge Cain said he faced a “conundrum” as there were risks associated with launching a coronial inquest.

“My concern is that I don’t want (an inquest) to prejudice or interfere with an investigation going on in Mozambique,” he said.

“If I was to list this for an inquest, I might end up in a situation where … they stop investigating.”

Elly Warren, far left, on the evening before she was found dead. Picture: Supplied

But Elly’s dad, Paul Warren, said he wanted the Coroners Court to proceed with an inquest regardless.

“I really don’t think that we’re going to get a lot of information from Mozambique,” he said.

“We’ve been trying for years now and they’ve always said that they’re not going to give us their case file.”

AFP will apply “further pressure” on Mozambican authorities over the coming months, at the request of Judge Cain, in the hopes it will learn new information.

“Move heaven and earth to … try and get this family answers,” he said.

Coroner Darren Bracken in February 2021 grilled AFP about the status of its joint investigation with Mozambican authorities and demanded it step it up, after he ordered an inquest be held.

Elly’s family was promised at the time that the inquest would be launched by mid-2021 but Mr Warren said the case continued to “drag on”.

The case is expected to return to court in May for a further directions hearing before the inquest begins.