Coroner's Finding: Stockman, William Bruce

49y · Male·hanging

William Bruce Stockman, aged 49, died by hanging on 6 October 2019 in Renmark, South Australia, hours after arrest and release on bail. He was arrested for breaching an intervention order following a disturbance at a hotel. At the police charge counter, he made two statements expressing suicidal ideation ("I'm done with life" and "I woke up this morning and I felt like topping myself"), but police dismissed these as "throw-away" comments without further assessment. A full mental health risk assessment was not completed due to "quick-turnaround" charging procedures. The coroner found the death was not preventable given accumulated stressors (relationship breakdown, work injury, financial stress, depression), but identified significant systemic failures in how police assessed and managed suicidal statements. Key recommendations included mandatory training on suicide risk, ensuring full risk assessment questions are asked, and improving procedures to prevent suicidal comments being overlooked.