Coroner's Finding: HAYWARD Robyn Eileen and DURANCE Edwin Raymond
Deceased
Robyn Eileen Hayward; Edwin Raymond Durance
Demographics
45y, female
Date of death
2009-02-27
Finding date
2012-01-23
Cause of death
Robyn Eileen Hayward: gunshot wound to the head; Edwin Raymond Durance: gunshot wound to the left chest
AI-generated summary
This inquest examined two deaths from gunshot wounds in domestic violence context. Robyn Hayward (45 years) was shot by her estranged partner Edwin Durance (62 years), who was subsequently shot by police. Critical failures emerged in the domestic violence investigation: bail was granted hastily at 1:26am without considering the risk assessment showing Ms Hayward at high risk; the bail authority received no information from the completed PD438 risk assessment form; police failed to take a statement from Ms Hayward's father who witnessed the incident and would have revealed knowledge of a .22 rifle on the property; no firearm seizure occurred despite information about the weapon being available to Durance; and inadequate follow-up contact with Ms Hayward meant risk management plans were never completed. Police General Orders requiring risk assessment documentation and victim contact were not followed. Had proper investigation occurred, the rifle likely would have been located and seized, preventing Ms Hayward's death by that means.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- Bail granted hastily without proper risk assessment review
- Failure to provide bail authority with completed PD438 risk assessment form
- Unsuitable bail accommodation (domestic violence shelter) with previous victim
- Failure to take statement from material witness (father) despite obvious opportunity
- Failure to establish presence of firearm on property
- Inadequate follow-up contact with victim by police
- Non-completion of mandatory risk management plans (PD439, PD440, PD441)
- No communication between police and domestic violence service regarding firearm
- Lack of ongoing enquiry regarding bail breach compliance
- Absence of victim contact officer coverage during leave period
Coroner's recommendations
- Amend Bail Act 1985 to preclude granting bail in domestic violence cases by bail authorities other than a Court
- All alleged domestic violence assault cases be brought before Magistrates Court within 48 hours of arrest
- Amend Bail Act 1985 to require firearms surrender condition in bail agreements for domestic violence cases (mirroring Intervention Orders Act)
- Commissioner of Police routinely make applications for intervention orders in all cases of arrest or charge for domestic violence offences
- Establish body of intelligence on serial/repeat domestic violence perpetrators including access to firearms, bail breach propensity, substance abuse history, criminal history, and relevant behavioural information
- Reinforce need to take statements from all relevant witnesses at earliest opportunity in domestic violence investigations
- Reinforce need to consider and properly enquire about alleged perpetrator's access to firearms on ongoing basis
- Reinforce need to enquire of victims on ongoing basis about perpetrator compliance with bail or intervention order conditions
- Consider surveillance of alleged perpetrators in high-risk domestic violence cases to verify bail/intervention order compliance
- Domestic violence services routinely share information with police about perpetrators' firearm possession or access
- Domestic violence services maintain individual records on serial/repeat domestic violence perpetrators
- Domestic violence services inform police of suspected bail/intervention order breaches
- Domestic violence services make repeated enquiry of victims regarding perpetrator compliance with bail/intervention orders
- Implement Family Safety Framework in all LSAs (noted as subsequently implemented in Murray Mallee LSA)
Full text
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 —