Deceased
Phoebe Handsjuk
Demographics
24y, female
Date of death
2010-12-02
Finding date
2014-12-10
Cause of death
Exsanguination from injuries sustained while attempting to climb from a height in the setting of alcohol and zolpidem consumption
AI-generated summary
Phoebe Handsjuk, a 24-year-old woman with a history of depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse, was found deceased in the refuse room of her apartment building on 2 December 2010. The coroner found she entered a garbage chute on the 12th floor while in a zolpidem/alcohol-induced sleep-walking-like state or deeply confused state, without conscious awareness of the dangers. She sustained injuries descending approximately 30 metres through the chute, including catastrophic injury to her right leg from the compactor at the bottom. The coroner's analysis of her injuries, blood spatter patterns, and movement patterns indicated her descent was substantially controlled, not a free fall. The investigation initially focused on foul play but the coroner concluded this was neither suicide with intent nor homicide. Critical clinical lessons include: psychologists treating acutely suicidal patients should arrange crisis intervention plans and CAT team involvement; prescribers must counsel on zolpidem-alcohol contraindications; and emergency responders should prioritise life-saving assessment over scene preservation.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
59y · Male·Multiple injuries
Martin Carl Quiterio, a 59-year-old man with longstanding schizophrenia and suspected autism spectrum disorder, died on 3 January 2024 when he jumped from the 14th floor of a car park in West Perth. He had been discharge…
36y · Male·Drowning
Gary Dale Sargeant, a 36-year-old Royal Australian Air Force member, died by drowning after absconding from Edinburgh Health Centre during an acute mental health crisis. Critical clinical failures included: a clinical ps…
45y · Male·focal coronary artery disease and cardiomegaly
Stratos Ioannidis, age 45, died at Maroondah Hospital on 28 March 2025 from focal coronary artery disease and cardiomegaly during an involuntary psychiatric admission. He presented with acute psychosis from bipolar disor…
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 —