‘Body in the dunes’: police on third investigation into Simon Gaskill mystery
An extraordinary third investigation into the mystery will go ahead after the dead man’s family discovered the detective appointed to lead the second inquiry was involved in the initial botched probe.
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An extraordinary third investigation into the “body in the dunes” mystery will be conducted by police for Victoria’s coroner after the dead man’s family discovered the detective appointed to lead the second inquiry was involved in the initial botched probe.
In a dramatic twist in the saga over the death of Simon Gaskill, whose body was found on Good Friday 2022 at Ocean Grove beach, new detectives have been assigned to the case.
The Australian can reveal a non-local detective is leading to what amounts to a third inquiry that will probe both the original investigation and the reinvestigation into the death of the 51-year-old homeless man who had pitched a tent and was living in the sand dunes on the Bellarine Peninsula.
The third inquiry was opened after the Gaskill family raised concerns with the coroner that a Geelong detective who led the second inquiry was involved in the original flawed probe.
Amanda Gaskill, the dead man’s sister, welcomed the news, saying the family hoped it would lead to a detailed and professional investigation and provide answers about the tragedy. “It is disappointing to still not have any closure over two years later,” she told The Australian on Monday.
“Despite the ongoing challenges we have had trying to get a thorough investigation into Simon’s death, our family continues to remain committed and hopeful that we will get some answers.”
The Australian has confirmed the Geelong detective leading the second investigation was one of eight police who raced to the grisly scene on April 15 when Gaskill’s body was first discovered.
A holidaying teenager exploring the dunes stumbled across the badly decomposed body which was laying face down, across a branch, still wearing a backpack. It’s believed he had died around two or three weeks earlier.
Three months after his body was found, Victorian deputy coroner Jacqui Hawkins closed the case in July 2022, finding the cause of death was “unascertained”.
The coroner’s office did not respond to a series of detailed questions relating to the family’s concerns about the appointment of the Geelong detective, but it is up to Victoria Police which officers are assigned to investigations for the court.
“The investigation into the death of Simon Gaskill is ongoing. As this is an active investigation, no further comment can be made,” a court spokesperson said.
Victoria Police declined to comment in detail. “Police will continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a man located deceased in Ocean Grove on 15 April 2022 after receiving direction from the coroner. As the matter is deemed to be before the court, we will not be providing comment at this stage,” a police spokesperson said.
The Gaskill family has claimed police bungled the first investigation by “brushing it aside” and failing to properly investigate the circumstances surrounding his death because police considered him to be a “homeless guy who just died in the dunes”.
“They didn’t see my brother as important,” Ms Gaskill told The Australian last year.
Chris Gaskill, the dead man’s father, said: “The police just ticked the boxes they needed to tick and that was the end of it. It was very dismissive.”
Simon Gaskill’s mobile phone was not found with his remains at the popular family beach and police never bothered to search his call records or internet usage during the first inquiry.
In successfully appealing to the coroner to reopen the inquiry, the Gaskill family also raised concerns about a lack of police interviews with family and friends, the failure to map a timeline leading up to his death, the failure to track the missing mobile phone, and the fact that only a minimal forensic examination was conducted on the remains.
But in an extremely rare move, Ms Hawkins reopened the investigation following the publication in The Weekend Australian of a 4000-word magazine cover story about the mystery on April 15, 2023, exactly a year after the body was discovered.
“For the application to be successful, I must be satisfied that there are new facts and circumstances that make it appropriate to set aside all or some of the findings,” the coroner stated in her decision on May 8, 2023.
“Having reviewed the application and the article in The Weekend Australian Magazine … I am satisfied that the application and article constitute new facts and circumstances that were not known to me at the time I finalised my finding.
“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.”
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