In this bonus episode of Unravel: Blood on the Tracks, Allan Clarke follows from France as Deputy State Coroner Harriet Graham delivers her findings in Tamworth on the death of Mark Anthony Haynes, a 17-year-old Gomeroi teen found on the railway tracks on 16 January 1988.1:48
After a smoking ceremony on the courthouse steps, the coroner works through 38 years of theories and police failures, rules out suicide, calls the death suspicious and says people in the community still hold information they never shared with police.3:51
She finds the investigation flawed, with evidence lost early, and names racism or unconscious bias within the court and coronial system as a factor, apologising to the family for the failures of both police and courts.6:56
ABC Tamworth reporter Max Tillman describes a muted courtroom, while Clarke reflects on the car found nearby that was never fingerprinted and on a man of interest from the 1990s whom the coroner found truthful and credible.7:44
Uncle Duck says his 38-and-a-half-year journey was not in vain, sister Lorna says the case would have been solved within 48 hours had Mark been white, and the case now goes to the Unsolved Homicide Unit with a recommendation for further DNA testing of a swab from a pink lighter.21:42
Brief overview
After nearly 40 years, a coroner ruled out suicide in Mark Haynes' death but could not say how he died.
Suicide ruled out, cause still unknownThe coroner found Mark's death suspicious but could not say how he died or who was involved.
A flawed investigation shaped by biasLost evidence, an unexamined car and racism or unconscious bias are named as failures of the 1988 response.
Hope now rests on new DNA testingThe case goes to the Unsolved Homicide Unit with a recommendation to retest a swab from a pink lighter.
Questions this recording answers
5 questions, each answered where it is said
What did the coroner find about how Mark Haynes died?
Deputy State Coroner Harriet Graham could not say how Mark died or what led him to be on the tracks, but after careful consideration ruled out suicide. She found his death suspicious and said she was convinced people in the community still have information about what happened.
Answered around 6:24What did the coroner say about the original police investigation?
She said the inquest laid bare a flawed investigation, that evidence lost at an early stage cannot be rectified, and that while some failures came from resourcing or unimplemented policies, racism or unconscious bias within the court and coronial system was also a factor. She apologised to the family.
Answered around 6:56Why does the car found near the tracks matter so much?
Allan Clarke calls the smashed car nearby the closest thing to proving Mark was not alone that night. It was left out for weeks, never fingerprinted and then disappeared, and with most key witnesses from 1988 dead or hard to find, there is now no physical evidence.
Answered around 17:58What happens to the case after the inquest?
Mark's case goes to the Unsolved Homicide Unit. The coroner recommended considering further DNA testing of the swab from a pink lighter found at the scene in January 1988, because technology for finding DNA keeps advancing.
Answered around 25:20How did Mark's family respond to the findings?
Uncle Duck said he felt buoyed and that his journey of over 38 and a half years had not been in vain, asking anyone who was there to come forward. His sister Lorna said the family always knew he did not commit suicide and that had he been white the case would have been solved within 24 to 48 hours.
Answered around 22:08
Key Quote
“after careful consideration, I have been able to rule out suicide. Mark's death is suspicious”
— Harriet Graham, Blood on the Tracks Inquest Findings, at 6:24▶ listen at 6:24
Key Quote
“racism or unconscious bias within the court and coronial system is also a factor.”
— Harriet Graham, Blood on the Tracks Inquest Findings, at 7:15▶ listen at 7:15
Key Quote
“it was a muted feeling in that courtroom.”
— Max Tillman, Blood on the Tracks Inquest Findings, at 9:08▶ listen at 9:08
Key Quote
“It was never fingerprinted.”
— Allan Clarke, Blood on the Tracks Inquest Findings, at 18:49▶ listen at 18:49
Key Quote
“that my journey for over 38 and a half years have not been in vain.”
— Uncle Duck, Blood on the Tracks Inquest Findings, at 22:08▶ listen at 22:08
Key Quote
“Today, Mark is named not as a case number or statistic or piece of evidence, but as a life that mattered.”
— Allan Clarke, Blood on the Tracks Inquest Findings, at 21:28▶ listen at 21:28
Cite this
“Blood on the Tracks Inquest Findings.” https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/m7/Z/3g.mp3. Transcript summary by WhipScribe, https://whipscribe.com/transcript-pages/blood-on-the-tracks-inquest-findings.html.