Kumanjayi Haywood domestic violence coronial details Hidden Valley fire

A coronial inquest has revealed a Territory woman’s final message to her loved ones: ‘(He’s) going to kill me tonight, love you so much don’t cry for me babe’.

A paper trail recording two decades of a Territory woman’s abuse was readily available when the petrol began pooling underneath her door.

Police knew the name of her 36-year-old abuser as he used a cigarette lighter to spark a fiery explosion at the Hidden Valley Camp home.

Medical staff had treated her bruises, cuts and scars for years before the 34-year-old woman arrived in hospital with burns to 90 per cent of her body.

And her loved ones knew the fear in her voice when she told them: “(he) is going to kill me tonight.”

An NT coronial inquest has begun its investigation into two decades of missed opportunities to intervene in the abuse of a 34-year-old woman, known for cultural reasons as Kumanjayi Haywood.

On Tuesday coroner Elisabeth Armitage opened her six-month long investigation into the deaths of four Aboriginal women killed by their partners.

Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage opened her six-month long investigation into the deaths of four Aboriginal women killed by their partners. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer said the 34-year-old died “in agony” in November 2021 after her husband Kumanjayi Dixon “brutally” assaulted her before setting fire to the toilet she was sheltering inside at Hidden Valley Camp.

Dr Dwyer said this was the final culmination of “years of trauma”, with 35 confirmed incidents of domestic violence recorded by NT Police over 21 years.

Dr Dwyer said this was likely only a glimpse of the violence Ms Haywood “silently endured and (did) not report to police”.

The police record over six years found Ms Haywood had been punched in the face, kicked, had a chair smashed over her back, had a stick swung into her face, was threatened with a knife, was assaulted and was pummelled in the head with a rock.

But Dr Dwyer said this was just the beginning, with Dixon’s violence only escalating over the next 12 years.

Counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer said the 34-year-old died “in agony” in November 2021.

Dr Dwyer detailed a toxic pattern of Dixon being charged for brutal assaults, sentenced, released and then being caught again attacking Ms Haywood — and countless incidents of Dixon breaching domestic violence orders.

“If it is relentless for us to hear about it month after month, and year after year, it might bring us closer to understanding how relentless it felt to endure that cycle of violence,” Dr Dwyer said.

Despite decades of reported violence — starting in 2003 when she was just 16 — the court heard “neither Kumanjayi Dixon nor Kumanjayi Haywood were ever referred to the Family Safety Framework, at any time during their lives”.

In 2012 the NT introduced the Family Safety Framework, which was touted as an “action-based integrated service response” for victims of family violence.

But Dr Dwyer said she suspected the extensive coronial would “reveal failings (with the FSF) that are all too common and suggest the need for fresh thinking on how to address the gaps”.

In one incident — one month before her death — Ms Haywood called triple-0 saying Dixon was “trying to kill me”.

When police arrived they noticed bloody injuries to her leg, but she then denied anything had happened.

Dr Dwyer said the abuse victim was then arrested on two outstanding warrants of apprehension.

The coroner also heard police granted Dixon bail over a domestic violence order breach only three days before the fatal fire.

Dr Dwyer said police deemed there was a presumption for bail, despite the “significant history of violence between the couple, an escalation in recent years and the serious concerns expressed by Kumanjayi Haywood’s family”.

On the day of the fire, Ms Haywood and Dixon were drinking at Hidden Valley Camp outside Alice Springs.

On the day of the fire, Ms Haywood and Dixon were drinking at Hidden Valley Camp outside Alice Springs. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Dr Dwyer said it was “impossible to ignore” the role of alcohol in the inquest, saying “excessive alcohol consumption looms large in each of the (four) deaths”.

Over an hour Ms Haywood made eight missed calls to her loved one and sent “eerily prophetic” texts.

“(He’s) going to kill me tonight, love you so much don’t cry for me babe,” one message read.

Dr Dwyer said after calling her back the loved one “could hear from (Ms Haywood’s) voice that she was really drunk but also frightened”.

Witnesses said as they arrived back at the Hidden Valley Camp, his violence escalated from punches, to striking her with a piece of wood then a chair.

Dr Dwyer said her blood was “spraying” onto a car, before she ran into the home and locked herself in the toilet.

Witnesses said as they arrived back at the Hidden Valley Camp, his violence escalated from punches, to striking her with a piece of wood then a chair. (AAP Image/Dan Peled) NO ARCHIVING

Dixon grabbed a 20L jerry can from the car and yelled: “Come out, come out … If you’re not gonna come out I will count to three. If you don’t come out I will hit you.”

He then sparked the cigarette lighter causing a massive explosion.

Dr Dwyer said Ms Haywood was in “agony” when she told police what her husband had done.

She died two days later.

Counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer said the 34-year-old died “in agony” in November 2021 after being trapped in a fire at Alice Springs Hidden Valley town camp. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Her abuser was taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital with burns to about 60 per cent of his body — he died eight days after the fire.

Dr Dwyer said the purpose of the inquest was not to repunish abusers, or shame government agencies, policy makers or of family violence services — but to help understand and prevent further deaths.

“We hope that their deaths will be a catalyst for meaningful change in the Northern Territory,” she said.

The hearing continues on Wednesday.

Originally published as Kumanjayi Haywood domestic violence coronial details Hidden Valley fire