Townsville police investigating death of Isaac Oar who died at 29kg, aged 56

Detectives have revealed a person of interest as part of an investigation into the death of a North Queensland man who was non-verbal and largely housebound. Police have released video of his awful living conditions.

The sister of a man with Down syndrome who died weighing just 29kg is being treated as a person of interest in his death.

Police have revealed they are continuing to investigate the death of Isaac ‘Ike’ Oar, who had down syndrome, was non-verbal and largely housebound.

They have called for any members of the public who knew Mr Oar, or his family, to come forward to aid in the investigation.

In August 2023, Mr Oar was pronounced dead after a call to triple-0 from his older sister stating that he was unresponsive in their Ayr home.

Footage captured by Queensland Police of inside the Ayr home where 56-year-old Isaac Oar was declared dead on the night of August 10, 2023 following years of severe malnourishment.

Mr Oar’s older sister was his primary carer and is being considered by police as a person of interest. There is no suggestion that she is a suspect of any wrongdoing in the matter.

Police established a crime scene and began an investigation into the man’s death, focusing on his health, care and treatment throughout his life.

Footage captured by Queensland Police of inside the Ayr home where 56-year-old Isaac Oar was declared dead on the night of August 10, 2023 following years of severe malnourishment.

Following a forensic medical examination and a thorough post-mortem, it was revealed that Mr Oar, 56, was extremely malnourished at the time of his death weighing just 29kg.

Detective Inspector Jason Shepherd said the down syndrome man was non-verbal, largely housebound and it appeared that he had not received any professional medical treatment “in well over a decade” which limited his contact with people of the community.

“It makes the investigation quite complex,” he said.

“We have to look at a lot of the medical history, Isaac’s care over that time and just generally what his lifestyle was like.

Footage captured by Queensland Police inside the Ayr home the night 56-year-old down syndrome man Isaac Oar was declared deceased following years of severe neglect. He was announced dead on August 10, 2023.

“If he had been taken to a doctor or a clinic, I imagine somebody would’ve raised serious concerns earlier on (about his health) but the fact that he had not received any professional medical care in a very long time probably limited the amount of people he had contact with and who would have been able to contact police or contact the ambulance.”

Police are investigating what they believe could be poor housing conditions and severe malnourishment, and Mr Shepherd said that detectives believe the Ayr man may have experienced “years of neglect”.

“Because (Mr Oar) had down syndrome and he was non-verbal and largely housebound he didn’t have a lot of contact with people outside the house but we do believe people would’ve had contact with family members and the house at times during the years preceding his death,” he said.

“We do believe those people may be able to assist us more with … what his living conditions were like and how he was being cared for.”

Townsville Detective Inspector Jason Shepherd. Picture: Evan Morgan

Mr Shepherd said investigators had spoken to people who had provided Mr Oar with support he was entitled to through his NDIS, but needed to ensure they spoke to all external carers to build a timeline of his health deterioration.

Police said extensive investigations into the death of the down syndrome and non-verbal man by detectives from the Crime and Intelligence Homicide Investigation Unit and Ayr Criminal Investigation Branch can be complex due to the nature of the death.

“The difficulty and the reason these matters are complex is because we’ve still got to prove a criminal element to a lack of care so that’s why we need as much assistance as we can,” Mr Shepherd said.

“The investigation has been ongoing this whole time … we have been trying to look at all avenues of building a timeline as to Isaac’s care prior to his death but there are still significant holes in that.

“That's why we are putting this appeal out because we think there will be people out there who would have had contact with Isaacs family members Isaac himself or will have a better idea of what care, or lack of care, or medical treatment he may have received at that time.”

“Detectives are not satisfied that this investigation is complete and will continue to investigate all circumstances surrounding the death of Isaac.

“So we are reaching out to the Burdekin community in particular and really anyone who knew Isaac, who knew anything about his care or knew anything about his medical treatment in the years leading up to his death in 2023.”

Mr Shepherd said anyone who may have visited the house whether that be for trade related work, to provide electricity or water services, council work or door salespeople should come forward with any information they can provide.

“Any piece of information, no matter how small, can have a significant impact on our investigation,” he said.

If you have information for police, contact Policelink by providing information using the online suspicious activity form 24hrs per day at www.police.qld.gov.au/reporting.

Report crime information anonymously via Crime Stoppers. Call 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestoppersqld.com.au.

Quote this reference number: QP2301323464

Originally published as Townsville police investigating death of Isaac Oar who died at 29kg, aged 56