Finding into death of Leslie Hawkins
Deceased
Leslie Hawkins
Demographics
57y, male
Date of death
2018-10-18
Finding date
2019-08-21
Cause of death
Complications of opioid (hydromorphone and morphine) toxicity and incised wounds of the wrists in a man with ischaemic heart disease
AI-generated summary
Leslie Hawkins, aged 57 with dementia and significant medical comorbidities, died from opioid toxicity and incised wrist wounds as part of a suicide pact with his terminally ill wife. Mrs Hawkins, diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer, cut both their wrists with a box cutter following agreement that neither wished to continue living—she to avoid prolonged suffering, he to avoid nursing home placement. This case is medico-legal rather than a clinical error case, but highlights the importance of identifying vulnerable patients (those with dementia and partners with terminal diagnoses) and offering comprehensive palliative, psychological, and social support. Early engagement with mental health services and formal risk assessment may have identified the suicide pact risk. The presence of opioid medications found at autopsy that were not administered by hospital staff suggests Mrs Hawkins may have administered additional analgesia to her husband.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Wife's diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer
- Mr Hawkins' diagnosis of dementia
- Mr Hawkins' stated desire to avoid nursing home placement
- Suicide pact agreement between spouses
- Presence of opioid medications (hydromorphone and morphine) not administered by hospital or emergency staff
- Incised wounds to both wrists with transection of radial artery and vein
- Pre-existing ischaemic heart disease
- Blood loss from wrist injuries
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 —