Coroner's Finding: Macdonald, Shauna Maree
Deceased
Shauna Maree Macdonald
Demographics
38y, female
Date of death
2015-05-03
Finding date
2017-02-20
Cause of death
Pentobarbital toxicity
AI-generated summary
A 38-year-old woman with advanced Huntington's disease died from pentobarbital toxicity after intentional ingestion. She had progressive neurological decline with awareness of end-stage disease complications. The coroner found she had capacity and acted with clear intent, leaving explanatory letters to family. This case highlights the profound suffering experienced by patients with progressive neurodegenerative diseases and the importance of early discussion about advance care planning, palliative care options, and psychological support for patients and carers managing terminal neurodegenerative conditions.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Advanced Huntington's disease with progressive neurological decline
- Awareness of end-stage disease symptoms and anticipated suffering
- Access to pentobarbital
- Carer absence during critical period
Full text
Related cases
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 —