A South Australian coroner has released her findings into the death of an Adelaide mother who was killed by a mentally ill man outside a ‘suburban shopping centre’. The coroner found there were ‘multiple missed opportunities’ to intervene to address her killer’s mental illness.
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00:00A family which has grappled with immense grief.
00:05This is Michelle. I hope we never forget and that something is done for her and for the many people that might suffer in the future.
00:14Michelle Foster was beaten to death by Jaden Lauer outside the Colonnade shopping centre in Adelaide's southern suburbs in October 2018.
00:22Lauer was experiencing delusions because of his schizophrenia,
00:25attacking Ms Foster just 41 days after he was released from prison into homelessness, having been jailed over an earlier attack on two strangers.
00:33Following his release, Lauer told emergency service workers he would probably kill someone.
00:38He was found not guilty of the murder due to his mental incompetence in 2020 and was placed under lifelong mental health supervision.
00:45In her findings, Deputy State Coroner Naomi Kerreru said Ms Foster's death was not preventable, but that there were missed opportunities to intervene and change the trajectory of Lauer's illness.
00:55There was no one act or omission on the part of any particular person or entity relating to the management of Mr Lauer's mental health that directly contributed to the death of Ms Foster.
01:05It was only after Ms Foster's death that it was realised the reintroduction of antipsychotic medication was too little and too late.
01:13I'll never forgive him for what he did, but I can understand that he was turned away, there were systems that were not in place that could have helped him.
01:21Ms Kerreru recommended better communication between the Department for Corrections and prison health staff,
01:27and that the definition of high risk offender be broadened to include those with chronic mental health conditions who act violently.
01:34We will have a good look at the findings that have been handed down and look at ways that we can improve safety in South Australia.
01:40But the State's Attorney-General says the State's high risk offender laws are already extensive.
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