Coroner to reopen mystery case

It is the anguish of the unknown that has deepened the grief of the Gaskill family in the year since the body of Simon Gaskill was found at a popular Victorian beach on April 15 last year, Good Friday. As the first anniversary of the death of the 51-year-old neared, sister Amanda and dad Chris Gaskill overcame raw emotion to share with The Australian’s Victorian editor, Damon Johnston, the deeply personal story of the life and death of the man they called Simo.

They traversed a life that began with optimism in the Great Ocean Road town of Skenes Creek but ended in mystery in the sand dunes of Ocean Grove beach. They spoke honestly about Simo. As a boy, he was a prodigiously talented surfer and popular teenager. But by middle age he had grown into a difficult man and, in the years before his death, alcoholism and most likely mental illness had darkened his once bright light.

Sitting in the family’s Anakie home, about 50km inland from Ocean Grove where Simo’s body was found, Mr Gaskill spoke of the never-ending of pain of losing a son. ‘‘We’ve been wrestling with this for almost a year now and it (the grief) hasn’t diminished with time. I’m told that over time you learn to live with it. But no, not so far.”

The Gaskill family found the courage to tell this very sad story for two reasons. First, they wanted the world to know the “body in the dunes” wasn’t just an anonymous and unloved soul. He had a name, and family, and friends who loved him very much. Second, they felt abandoned by what they say was a negligent police investigation.

“The police didn’t look into it, they didn’t ask anyone any questions. The care factor wasn’t there,” Ms Gaskill said. “I felt it was considered by the police to be ‘a homeless guy who just died in the dunes’.”

After initially contacting the family to collect DNA to confirm identity, the Gaskills say, police lost interest in the case and quickly informed them there were no suspicious circumstances. It was now up to the coroner, the police said. Their job was done. As Ms Gaskill observed, how would the police know? They didn’t interview any family members or friends and they don’t appear to have obtained his mobile phone data, which could reveal who he was speaking to and texting immediately before his death. The family also believes the police have failed to obtain a warrant to track the missing mobile phone’s unique identifying number, which could reveal if the handset is being used with a new SIM card.

The Gaskills want it known they are not launching a vendetta against the police. But they feel abandoned by police and left to conduct their own search for answers. Local police left Ms Gaskill feeling as if she was a “nuisance” when she would ring seeking updates.

When Deputy State Coroner Jacqui Hawkins delivered her finding three months later, the family felt abandoned for a second time. The coroner concluded the cause of death was “unascertained” and that there was no public interest in investigating further. Case closed. The system had given up on Simo. But the family wasn’t about to do that.

On April 15 – the first anniversary of Simo’s body being found – The Weekend Australian published a 4500-word magazine cover story investigating his life and mysterious death. On Wednesday, just three weeks later, Ms Hawkins reopened the case: ‘‘Having reviewed the application (from the family) and the article in The Weekend Australian Magazine … I am satisfied that these new facts and circumstances make it appropriate to set aside some or all of my findings and reopen the investigation.”

Ultimately, this is a story about the kind of lives we as a society value. The life of a troubled man living in the sand dunes should not count for less than any other life. Victoria Police and the coroner owe it to Simon Gaskill and his family to exhaust all lines of inquiry in searching for answers.