Finding into death of J Q
Deceased
JQ
Demographics
16y, female
Date of death
2022-03-08
Finding date
2024
Cause of death
Plastic bag asphyxia
AI-generated summary
A 16-year-old girl with a history of suicidal ideation and self-harm died by plastic bag asphyxia using argon gas purchased from a hardware store. She had been seeing a psychologist who noted improvement in her mental health, and she declined further appointments in late 2021. She returned to school in 2022 appearing happy but reported feeling tired and overwhelmed in mid-February. She purchased argon gas and equipment on 7-8 March 2022 and took her own life that evening. The coroner found Victoria Police's missing persons investigation was timely and appropriate. Key issues identified included: the ease of accessing argon gas from retail outlets (unlike helium which now has safety standards), delays in obtaining CCTV footage from railway stations, and initial dismissive police response when parents reported her missing. The coroner notes that despite previous coronial recommendations, regulatory agencies have been unable or unwilling to restrict access to argon gas or implement design modifications to prevent its misuse in suicide.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- History of suicidal ideation and self-harm
- Academic pressure and anxiety
- Perceived stress regarding school achievement
- Easy accessibility of argon gas from retail outlets
- Online research into suicide methods
- Discontinuation of psychological support
Coroner's recommendations
- That the Department of Transport conduct an audit of CCTV coverage at both Melbourne metro and regional railway stations to ensure all stations have appropriate coverage, and that the footage is easily accessible to emergency services
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 —