Summa family refuses autopsy
THE grieving family of Cairns woman Summa Simmonds, who died last weekend in Bali, have told Indonesian authorities they do not want an autopsy carried out.
It comes as Bali police and morgue officials say that without an autopsy it is impossible to determine the exact cause of death of the 38-year-old, whose body will be flown home to Australia today.
But police say they will not force an autopsy, they believe there is no crime and that Ms Simmonds died after ingesting a large amount of vodka.
Dr Ida Bagus Putu Alit, the forensic chief at Sanglah Hospital morgue, said based on an external examination of the body, the mechanism of death was asphyxia, but the cause was unknown.
Police have said there was no sign of methanol poisoning, which can occur after drinking locally produced arak that can often be distilled into legitimate alcohol bottles.
Ms Simmonds died in the early hours of last Sunday morning after police allege she drank a large amount of vodka in a villa at the luxury Peppers Seminyak, where she was holidaying with two other women.
Police scene photos from the night show two empty Absolut vodka bottles, several empty bottles of mixed vodka and a third large bottle of Smirnoff vodka.
But Ms Simmonds’ family and friends dispute that she drank so much or that she was a heavy drinker and have suggested she died of a reaction to the drinks.
Dr Alit said Ms Simmonds’ body arrived at the morgue at 3.40am on Sunday and an external examination was conducted immediately.
“Based on the signs of death, the victim died less than eight hours before we conducted the examination. There was no sign of violence,’’ Dr Alit said.
“The mechanism of the death is asphyxia. The cause of asphyxia can be various so we need an autopsy to find the cause.”