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Coroner's Finding: Nguyen, Van Tam

Deceased

Van Tam Nguyen

Demographics

47y, male

Date of death

2022-12-14

Finding date

2025-11-27

Cause of death

self-inflicted stab wound to the chest with penetration of the left ventricle of the heart

AI-generated summary

A 47-year-old man serving his sentence on home detention died from a self-inflicted stab wound to the chest. He had a history of heroin and methamphetamine use and was receiving methadone maintenance and mirtazapine while in custody. In early December, following a bee sting, he reported fatigue, insomnia, and visual hallucinations. He attended a Community Corrections appointment on 13 December appearing well with no mental health concerns identified. He died on 14 December 2022. The coroner found no failures in Community Corrections supervision, noting he presented no outward mental health issues and had made future plans. The death was determined to be self-inflicted despite initial paramedic reports suggesting otherwise, which were attributed to family distress and misinterpretation. No clinical interventions or escalations were identified as having been inappropriately withheld.

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.

Specialties

correctional healthpsychiatryaddiction medicineforensic medicine

Drugs involved

heroinmethamphetaminemethadonemirtazapine

Clinical conditions

opioid dependencemethamphetamine dependenceinsomniavisual hallucinationsdepression

Contributing factors

  • opioid and methamphetamine dependence history
  • recent onset fatigue, insomnia, and visual hallucinations following bee sting in early December 2022
  • psychological distress related to imprisonment and adjustment to home detention
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. Some material may have been redacted or restricted by court order or privacy requirements. 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 — report an inaccuracy here.