Coroner's Finding: Decision in relation to Martin 'Marjorie' Harwood
Deceased
Martin (Marjorie) Luke Harwood
Demographics
38y, female
Date of death
2018-07-01
Finding date
2025-04-11
Cause of death
end stage renal failure (Stage 5 chronic kidney disease)
AI-generated summary
Ms Harwood, a 38-year-old transgender woman with end-stage renal disease, died of natural causes following refusal of dialysis. Her mother claimed the death was suicide prompted by fear of returning to prison following an alleged 2017 rape. The coroner found no credible evidence of a 2017 sexual assault in prison, no contemporaneous reports or institutional documentation, and noted Ms Harwood had long been equivocal about undertaking dialysis due to her difficulty maintaining strict regimens amid substance use and psychiatric illness. Declining life-saving treatment for a terminal natural disease does not constitute suicide. The coroner declined coronial jurisdiction, finding the death was due to natural causes and not reportable.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- long-standing progressive kidney disease
- acute pulmonary oedema
- community-acquired pneumonia
- normocytic anaemia
- multiple comorbidities including eating disorder, alcohol excess, marijuana use, hepatitis C
- refusal of dialysis treatment
- inability to commit to strict dialysis regimen
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