Veronica Nelson handled inhumanely earlier than jail loss of life, jail officer concedes

CCTV exhibits Brown, nurse Atheana George and two other prison officers provide Nelson with paracetamol although a cell trap door about 1.30am. It was the last time workers noticed her alive.

During Brown’s nightshift, the coroner heard Nelson went on to make nine further requires help over the prison intercom, including a remaining two conversations Lacy described as “haunting” and “chilling”. Nothing was heard from Nelson after 4am. Her physique was found later that morning.

Attending paramedics believed she had been lifeless for a while.

Taking to the witness stand for the first time on Friday after a failed Supreme Courtroom combat to suppress her identification, Brown revealed she now believed she ought to’ve performed more to assist Nelson during her remaining hours.

Brown accepted she had a duty of care to Nelson and may have gone to test on the 37-year-old after the inmate became unresponsive during her final intercom name. She also accepted Nelson was deprived of “sufficient” medical care during her keep and never handled humanely.

The jail officer was also critical of the medical care offered to inmates and the condition through which some arrived at the Yarra unit. She stated night time nurses typically refused to walk the 200 metres from the medical unit to the Yarra unit to see patients during the evening.

Jail officers are not permitted to call triple zero and extra senior workers would have to be contacted to do this in any emergency, Brown stated.

An autopsy later found Nelson had the undiagnosed medical condition Wilkie’s syndrome, a rare however doubtlessly life-threatening gastrointestinal situation.

Rishi Nathwani, representing Nelson’s mother, was important of Brown’s motion and pressed the prison officer on an internal assessment that praised her actions.

Nathwani said within the overview, Dame Phyllis Frost normal manager Tracey Jones said she was “proud” of the way Nelson was treated in her remaining hours and that Brown “sensitively managed the intercom calls”.

Jail CCTV reveals Tracey Brown, far proper, attending Nelson’s jail cell alongside nurse Atheana George about 1.30am the day of Nelson’s loss of life.

On the stand, Brown disagreed. Jones is due to give proof subsequent week.

Photos and audio contained in this story were released to the media with permission from the household. For twenty-four/7 crisis assist run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).