Mother of former Finks bikie boss Brent Reker believes he was killed in prison

Lynette Kersten, former Finks president Brent Reker’s mother, is hoping a coronial inquest will reveal what really happened to her son.

The mother of a feared bikie boss who was found dead in his prison cell claims he was met with foul play.

The Victorian Coroner’s Court on Thursday heard, Brent Reker, 35, the former national president of the Finks, hanged himself inside his cell at Ravenhall Correctional Centre in late 2019.

But when asked outside of court if she believed her son had self-harmed, Reker’s mother Lynette Kersten replied: “No, not at all.”

Ms Kersten said she believed her son had been killed and claimed it had taken more than 24 hours before she was informed of his death.

“Originally (they said) it was a heart attack,” she said.

The grieving mother added she hoped a coronial inquest, due later this year, would shed light on her son’s death.

“All I want is for the system to change, I don’t want anyone to go through what I’m going through,” she said.

At the time of his death, Reker was on remand for serious violence, drug and weapons offences and was being held in a management unit for inmates with complex mental health issues.

At the time of Reker’s death, he was deemed high risk of self-harm. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Assistant to the coroner, Leading Senior Constable Fiona Nation, told the court the bikie boss was hospitalised after he attempted suicide in November 2018, months after he was incarcerated.

“A suicide note was left in his cell on this occasion,” she said.

He made another attempt the following day and days later threatened to harm himself again.

Reker was deemed at high risk of self-harm and placed under observation.

He was released on bail in January 2019, but was back behind bars the following month.

Later that year, he was transferred to the Moroka Unit at Ravenhall Correctional Centre.

In prison phone calls to his partner, Reker expressed his boredom and frustration at being locked up.

He also asked guards if he had to self-harm for his demands to be met.

Reker was deemed a risk of influencing other prisoners to self-harm and a decision was made to move him to an isolated unit.

When guards went to his cell to begin the transfer, they observed Reker swallowing metal debris left behind maintenance staff.

Later that afternoon, staff noticed Reker’s new cell window had been covered with toilet paper and he would not respond to their calls.

His mattress had been pushed against the door, with guards finding Reker unconscious inside the shower.

They commenced CPR but he could not be revived.

Coroner Paul Lawrie said the circumstances surrounding Reker’s death including his mental health history, prison transfer and risk management plan would be examined during the inquest.