Court hears details of investigation into fall death of Zoran Vidovic in Bali

Despite the assistance of the AFP and Interpol, an investigation into the tragic death of a Geelong dad in Bali has been stymied, with local authorities unwilling to assist, a court has heard.

Zoran Vidovic’s sudden death in January left the Geelong sporting community reeling. Picture: Bell Park Cricket Club.

The investigation into the death of a Geelong father in Bali has been stymied, with a key witness yet to provide a statement and investigators frustrated by a lack of co-operation from Indonesian authorities.

Zoran Vidovic, 53, died on January 28 this year after falling from a luxury hotel balcony while holidaying in Bali with his partner Zagi Kozarov.

The sudden death is being investigated by a coroner, with the first public hearing taking place on Thursday morning.

The court heard that at around 5.30pm on the day of his death, Mr Vidovic went to the end of an elevated lobby area of the Apurva Kempinski Hotel, south of Denpasar.

The court heard Ms Kozarov attempted to stop him before he plunged off the edge and was gravely injured.

Mr Vidovic was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but was later pronounced dead.

The 53-year-old’s death sent shockwaves through Geelong’s sporting community, where he was a much loved cricketer and football coach for Bell Park.

Apurva Kempinski Hotel. Picture: supplied

On February 2, his death was reported to the coroner by his family and Detective Sergeant Adam Radley was assigned to the case.

Coroner Paul Lawrie said the hearing was to advise the interested parties, including lawyers representing Ms Kozarov and Mr Vidovic’s daughter, Bella, respectively, of where the investigation stood.

Ms Vidovic has applied for an inquest to be held into her father’s death, but Mr Lawrie told the court he reserved his decision at this stage.

The court heard despite the assistance of Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Interpol, inquiries made in Bali had been stymied, with neither the hotel’s management or Indonesian police providing any assistance.

It is still unknown whether or not CCTV captured the moments before Mr Vidovic fell, with Mr Lawrie describing it as a “very confounding situation”.

“I must say it has been frustrating in the least, that we have not been able to answer any of those questions, despite efforts being repeatedly made by the AFP liaison in Bali,” he said.

Mr Lawrie stated it was likely the investigation would never find out if there was any CCTV.

The court heard Ms Kozarov has also yet to provide a statement in regards to what happened.

Her lawyer, Danielle Snell, acknowledged it was unhelpful to the investigation but told the court the delay was due to her client’s mental health deteriorating following the incident, and she was not yet in a condition to provide a statement.

Ms Snell said Ms Kozarov suffered from complicated grief and post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD).

She also told the court her client had made attempts to obtain the video footage and “the delivery of the footage is not something we would object to”.

Mr Lawrie said he appreciated Ms Kozarov’s circumstances, but asked Ms Snell to “use all your professional acumen that can be brought to bear” to facilitate a statement.

Mr Lawrie said he was “very reluctant” to finalise the matter without one.

“Her position as an eyewitness is critical, particularly when we’re looking at not having CCTV,” Mr Lawrie said.

“It leaves a very notable gap in the evidence … every effort should be made to facilitate (a statement), if at all possible.”

Detective Radley is expected to hand up a brief at the end of the month and the matter will return to court at a later date.

Originally published as Court hears details of investigation into fall death of Zoran Vidovic in Bali