Inquest into the Death of Petra Michelle MARQUIS
Deceased
Petra Michelle MARQUIS
Demographics
40y, female
Date of death
2022-06-09
Finding date
2024-06-12
Cause of death
ligature compression of the neck (hanging)
AI-generated summary
Petra Michelle Marquis, a 40-year-old woman with a documented history of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and borderline personality disorder, died by suicide while in police custody after being charged with drink-driving. She had been arrested with a blood alcohol level of 0.142%, detained at Rockingham Police Station, and released at 12:37 am after being disqualified from driving. Within 12 minutes, she used flag pole cords to hang herself outside the station. The coroner found the constables acted appropriately and compassionately during her custody and could not have foreseen her actions. However, the coroner made a recommendation that inexperienced probationary constables should be partnered with officers having at least nine months post-probationary experience whenever possible, as one constable had just completed probation while the other was only two weeks into his.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- mental health history including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and borderline personality disorder
- alcohol intoxication at time of death (blood alcohol 0.142%)
- recent life stressors including separation from partner and miscarriage
- disqualification from driving upon release from police custody
- poor lighting at front of police station
- lack of observation after release from custody
Coroner's recommendations
- That the Western Australian Police Force introduces a rostering guideline to the effect that, whenever possible, probationary constables performing operational duties and who do not have operational experience in another jurisdiction, be partnered with a police officer with a post-probationary operational experience of at least nine months
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