Deceased
Tara Maree Costigan
Demographics
female
Date of death
2015-02-28
Finding date
2018-02-28
Cause of death
Incised wounds to the neck and chest intentionally inflicted by Marcus Rappell, her ex-partner
AI-generated summary
Tara Maree Costigan died on 28 February 2015 from incised wounds to her neck and chest deliberately inflicted by her ex-partner Marcus Rappell at her home in Calwell, ACT. The perpetrator was subsequently convicted and sentenced for murder. The coroner found no public safety matter arose from the death and that no other person or entity bore responsibility. However, the case prompted recommendations to strengthen family violence victim protection processes: ensuring the Family Violence Coordination Unit is involved in all family violence order applications (not just police-initiated ones), and ensuring victims are notified when protection orders are served. The case catalysed significant community response and legislative reform around family violence in the ACT.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
3y · Male·Smoke inhalation with thermal inhalation injury and carbon monoxide poisoning
Mitchell Thomas, aged three, died in a public housing fire at Larapinta on 1 June 2023, from smoke inhalation. The fire was caused by electrical arcing in the roof space resulting from degraded insulation between two adj…
Unknown·Mixed drug toxicity
Clem McCullough died between 8-10 June 2019 from mixed drug toxicity. The inquest, held in May 2026, resulted in an open finding as the available evidence did not permit the coroner to determine the place or manner of de…
3y · Male·Hyperthermia due to environmental heat exposure due to vehicular entrapment
A 3-year-old died from hyperthermia after being left in a parked vehicle for over 5 hours on a hot day (31°C maximum). The father experienced a prospective memory failure: after refuelling during the school run, his auto…
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —