Finding into death of Elijah Michael Shelley
Deceased
ELIJAH MICHAEL SHELLEY
Demographics
28y, male
Date of death
2008-11-06
Finding date
2011-09-01
Cause of death
heroin toxicity
AI-generated summary
Elijah Shelley, a 28-year-old with borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, and polysubstance abuse, was admitted to Alfred Health following a suspected heroin overdose suicide attempt on 27 October 2008. Under the care of Consultant Psychiatrist Dr A., he received comprehensive treatment with a discharge plan involving progressively increasing periods of escorted and unescorted leave. By 6 November, he was assessed as low suicide risk and granted a two-hour unescorted leave. He attended group activities that morning, appeared engaged and positive about future employment, then returned home and died from heroin toxicity. The coroner found the clinical management and risk assessment appropriate and reasonable, with no basis to suggest the leave plan was unsafe or that clinicians should have altered their approach.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- borderline personality disorder
- depression and anxiety
- polysubstance and alcohol abuse/dependence
- chronic suicide ideation
- prior drug-induced psychosis
- history of multiple suicide attempts
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