Dying Rose | Neighbour heard Rose Hunter-Hebberman ‘arguing’ with man before shock death

Neighbours say police never questioned anyone at a tightly-packed unit block after a “bright, bubbly” teen’s death in a backyard shed – but they might have heard her final words.

A neighbour of a teen found dead in a backyard shed says she heard “arguing” before she died – but say police never questioned her, or anyone else at the block of tightly-packed units.

Rose Hunter-Hebberman was 19 years old when her body was discovered in Adelaide’s southern suburbs on December 4, 2019.

Police ruled her death to be self-inflicted within 24 hours, but her mother, Courtney Hunter-Hebberman, has raised concerns about the subsequent police investigation.

Messages found on Rose’s blood-smeared phone, kept by police for nearly three years, revealed a volatile argument between her and a man named Jared (a pseudonym) whose shed she was discovered in.

Rose is one of six Aboriginal women whose cases are being investigated by The Advertiser in Dying Rose, a podcast in which their families ask whether police properly responded to their deaths.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story contains images and voices of people who have died.

DYING ROSE PODCAST

Listen to Rose’s story in episode 3 here, or find Dying Rose on the Apple Podcasts app

One neighbour at the block units where Jared lived when Rose died, who asked to remain anonymous, said she and Rose and used to walk their dogs together in the months before her death – and had formed a friendship.

The neighbour said, about a week before Rose died, she could tell “something wasn’t right”.

“The last time I saw her, we’re walking around the block and she said to me, ‘I wish us as women had more strength … because even in our own homes, we don’t have the final say.’ That was all she said to me,” she said.

On the morning before Rose’s body was found, the neighbour said she saw her and Jared arguing in the front yard.

“At about 7.30am I came out to put my rubbish bin out the front and heard them arguing … I actually saw him first,” she said.

“He was waving his arms around and talking to her, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.”

Rose’s mother Courtney believes her daughter’s death was never properly investigated. Picture: Supplied

The neighbour said police did not ask her or any of the other neighbours at the block of units to provide statements following Rose‘s death, something Rose’s mother Courtney believes was a failing of the investigation.

Telephone records revealed that Rose and Jared exchanged more than 500 messages and 45 calls in the hours before her death, some of which contained disturbing threats.

In some, Rose made clear that she intended to harm herself.

At one point, Jared offered to call an ambulance – but stopped responding a short time later. Her final harrowing text messages went unanswered.

“You’re not even answering. Maybe I should just die then,” she wrote.

When he eventually did respond hours later, his first words were: “If my money or Phoenix isn’t there, I will be reporting you to the police.”

The Advertiser has made multiple attempts to contact Jared but has not received a response. There is no evidence he played a part in Rose’s death, which the autopsy concluded was a suicide.

SA Police declined to comment on the assertions of Rose’s family about her death, and referred inquiries to the coroner.

The Coroner’s Court refused a request for access to documents related to the case because it was not heard at inquest.

DYING ROSE PODCAST

Listen to all the episodes here, or find them on the Apple Podcasts app

Originally published as Dying Rose | Neighbour heard Rose Hunter-Hebberman ‘arguing’ with man before shock death