Elly Warren death: Father’s new push for answers from AFP

The father of a young Melbourne woman found dead in Mozambique says authorities “simply don’t care” as he pushes for answers about her mysterious death.

The father of a young woman who died in Mozambique under suspicious circumstances fears he will be left in limbo indefinitely waiting for an inquest into her death.

Paul Warren, whose 20-year-old daughter, Elly, was found dead near a toilet block in the coastal town of Tofo in 2016, said authorities had advised him the inquest could begin “later in the year”.

But, Mr Warren said he doubted the probe would go ahead as planned because he has already been waiting for five years for answers about his daughter’s death.

“We are still waiting for the coroner, Mr Bracken, to set a date for the inquest,” Mr Warren said.

“The Foreign Minister has confirmed that the inquest will take place later this year,” he said.

“But I’ve been told the inquiry is coming ‘soon’ for five years.”

Melbourne woman Elly Warren was found dead in Mozambique.

Mr Warren’s renewed concerns about the delayed inquest come as he pushes for an inquiry into the Australian Federal Police’s handling of Elly’s case.

Mr Warren is pushing for an independent inquiry after alleging investigators in both Australia and Mozambique hampered her investigation by mishandling evidence that surfaced three weeks after her death, which he said proved a struggle took place.

“The AFP was given a clear version of the crime scene photo by DFAT clearly showing Elly’s Black T-shirt ripped apart — if that’s not suspicious enough I don’t know what is” Mr. Warren said.

In June, Mr Warren told the Herald Sun he had received “no updates whatsoever” from the AFP since they were ordered to ramp up their investigation by coroner Darren Bracken in February.

Paul Warren in Tofo, Mozambique, at the site where his daughter Elly Warren was found dead.

Mr Warren said the inquest into Elly’s death and investigation inquiry were simply about getting answers from the AFP, whom he said had prioritised maintaining diplomatic relations with Mozambique over solving Elly’s case.

“We’re talking about a joint investigation (With Mozambique) here. Diplomatically, it’s a nightmare for them,” Mr Warren said.

“They (The AFP) don’t want to get involved.

“We’re talking about an Australian citizen here, but they simply don’t care.”

In a desperate bid to ramp up awareness about his daughter’s case, Mr Warren has called on former Labor leader Bill Shorten to publicly support an independent inquiry into the AFP.

“I’m doing it for other families to know that they can’t trust the AFP under these circumstances. The system needs to change,” he said.

“The integrity of the AFP comes into question with Elly’s investigation.

“We’re really calling for transparency.”