NSW State Coroner launches inquest into Wilcannia mum Lasonya Dutton after death in 2022

The ex-partner of a mother whose decomposed body was found in her family’s backyard had been accused of assaulting her, an inquest has heard.

The ex-partner of the mother whose body was discovered being eaten by dogs had a pending assault charge against her before the court, an inquest has heard.

The decomposed body of Barkindji woman Lasonya Dutton, 31, was found just metres from her family’s kitchen window in the remote far-western NSW town of Wilcannia on March 29, 2022, four days after she went missing in the small community.

Police said she was found with an electrical cable wrapped around her neck which they believed was used to hang herself from a fence post, just a metre-and-a-half high.

Her father, Keith Dutton, has spent more than a year fighting for answers from police and asking how his daughter could possibly have been there for so long without her family seeing her.

A coronial inquest has been launched into the death of Lasonya Dutton, whose body was found in Wilcannia in 2022. Picture: Supplied

Lasonya’s father, Keith Dutton, has spent almost three years searching for answers. Picture: Dijana Damjanovic

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Detective Sergeant of the homicide squad, Sharon Neil told the Wilcannia Local Court there were areas from within in the house that provided a view to the backyard from the kitchen window, despite there being curtains.

Det. Neil told the court she told local police officers that getting CCTV footage from the property of Lasonya’s ex-boyfriend was “a priority” to possibly contribute to a timeline of her movements.

The court heard there were indications that their relationship involved domestic violence and he had a pending assault charge against Lasonya before the court.

“There was some discussion that he may not have been as forthcoming in all the information out of concern for matters before the court,” Det. Neil said.

Detective Senior Constable Madeleine Fleming told the court Lasonya’s death was one of the more confronting and distressing scenes she had encountered in her career.

The court heard Det. Fleming applied for a crime scene warrant due to the “suspicious nature” of Lasonya’s death.
“The way that the body was located and the state that it was in, to me that’s what made it suspicious,” she said.
Det. Fleming acknowledged it was an oversight she didn’t ask questions about whether Lasonya had a domestic partner or how she broke her arm, when that information came to light in an interview.

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

Keith Dutton believed the police investigation into his daughter’s death was inadequate. Picture: Dijana Damjanovic

Mother-of-two Lasonya was found just metres from her family’s back window. Picture: Supplied

Lasonya was one of six Aboriginal women whose stories were investigated by The Advertiser in Dying Rose, a podcast in which their families question whether police properly responded to their deaths.

The court heard a pathologist concluded that Lasonya’s cause of death was unable to be determined from the post mortem report. It also heard Lasonya was described as an “outgoing, happy go lucky person who had not expressed any thoughts of self harm”.

The inquest continues.

DYING ROSE PODCAST: Listen to the episodes here, or find them on the Apple Podcasts app

Originally published as NSW State Coroner launches inquest into Wilcannia mum Lasonya Dutton after death in 2022