Kumanjayi Johnson inquest to investigate adequacy of care and urgency of search for 45-year-old

A 45-year-old man’s body was discovered within a 30 minute walk of his home six days after he disappeared from his supported living facility.

The top of Mount Gillen could not be seen as Alice Springs experienced murky weather towards the end of June Picture: ANDREA JOHNSTON

A 45-year-old man with the cognitive abilities of a child was left to wander the Central Australian outback for more than 40 hours in the height of summer before a missing persons alert was issued.

This week NT coroner Chrissy McConnel will investigate if police and disability support services treated the disappearance of Kumanjayi Johnson with the urgency required for the extremely vulnerable man.

The 45-year-old Arrentre man’s body was discovered wedged between two rocks in an “advanced state of decomposition”, six days after he walked out of his Alice Springs supported living facility on Sunday December 3, 2022.

On Monday, counsel assisting the coroner James Lowrey said the 45-year-old man’s most likely cause of death was from environmental exposure and dehydration.

Yet Kumanjayi’s final resting place at Alhekulyele, Mount Gillen, was within a half-hour walk of his home at the disability support facility.

NT coroner Chrissy McConnel. Picture: Zizi Averill

Mr Lowrey said the inquest would investigate the adequacy of care to the 45-year-old from the NDIS provider, Lifestyle Solutions — now called Possability Group — including if staff were aware of his absconding risk, and whether the behaviour support plans, safety plans and associated processes and procedures were appropriate for his needs.

Ms McConnell heard that after losing both his parents at a young age and witnessing his oldest brother’s death, Kumanjayi suffered from a series of alcohol related seizures in his early 20s.

Kumanjayi was 37 years old when he was diagnosed with a severe mental impairment, with the neuropsychological assessment warning his condition would worsen as “every seizure causes a little more brain damage each time it occurs”.

The report found he had a visual and non-verbal reasoning ability of a seven-year-old child, and his memory was so impaired “ it was impossible for him to compare events at different times to gain an appreciation of change having occurred”.

In 2015 Kumanjayi was placed under a Guardianship Order and moved into the supported independent living provider, Lifestyle Solutions.

Despite the civil courts finding he had impaired decision-making capacity, Kumanjayi kept getting caught in the criminal justice system with police called to manage “behaviours of concern” 10 times in six years — including an incident on the day of his disappearance.

Counsel assisting the coroner James Lowrey. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Mr Lowrey said the inquest would also unpack the efforts to search for Kumanjayi after he left the facility, asking: “what responsibility did Kumanjayi’s supported independent living accommodation take for searching for Kumanjayi, and … if they (and Police) did so with urgency”.

NT Police publicly put out a concern for welfare on December 5 — two days after he disappeared — warning that his medical conditions of diabetes and epilepsy were a “cause of concern” if untreated.

Tragically his body was discovered on December 9.

Mr Lowrey said the 45-year-old manwas adored by his family from Papunya and was known for his love of learning and languages, speaking three Arrernte dialects as well as Luritja and English.

“Kumanjayi loved birds, loved going out bush, loved hunting in Papunya, and loved eating kangaroo tail with family,” Mr Lowrey said.

“Kumanjayi’s behaviours of concern were merely behaviours, and did not define him.

“(He) cared about the impact of those behaviours upon his family, his carers, and his housemates; all of whom he cared greatly for.”