‘Hedidit’ note – inquest call
An Australian coroner has called for an inquest into the death of a former Dunedin woman after a private investigation by her family suggested she might not have committed suicide as first thought.
Nadine Haag, 33, was found dead in her Sydney apartment on December 3, 2009. She had deep wounds on her wrists and a suicide note tucked in her hand. Pills and a razor were also found nearby.
The police concluded Ms Haag had killed herself, and so did not carry out any forensic work or take fingerprints. But Ms Haag’s family did not accept the ruling, prompting brother Marcel and sisters Chantal, Tasia and Cherie, to conduct their own investigation with the help of former Victorian homicide inspector Lucio Rovis.
The family’s story featured in an October episode of the Australian current affairs show Sunday Night, which confirmed that a New South Wales coroner had called for an inquest into Ms Haag’s death.
The inquest would include the evidence gathered by her family, which included a second message reading ‘‘he did it’’, found at the scene.
According to the show, the ‘‘vivacious’’ dance instructor had been in an alleged violent relationship and, at the time of her death, was locked in a bitter dispute with her former partner. Sunday Night said her former partner has denied any involvement in her death.
It was revealed on the show that in 2009, she had sought two protection orders against Nestore Guizzon, but was denied by police both times.
The police took no DNA, fingerprints or forensic evidence from the scene because they were treating it as a suicide. Since 2010, however, Ms Haag’s siblings have been working to find out what really happened.
Sunday Night revealed how they recreated the crime scene and discovered two hidden messages saying ‘‘he did it’’, hidden underneath the original suicide note, and the same message scratched on a wall tile in Ms Haag’s bathroom, which, dis- turbingly, the police missed. The second message was found only months ago by new tenants in Ms Haag’s old apartment.
Toxicology reports commissioned by Ms Haag’s siblings found the amount of pills in her system was less than the therapeutic amount, Sunday Night reported.
The siblings also found her wrist wounds were much deeper than what could have been made by the razor.
Ms Haag’s family questioned the amount of blood found near her, because it was relatively small when her artery was supposed to have been cut, Sunday Night said.
A brown dress Ms Haag was wearing on the day she died was unaccounted for, as were two knives from a set of six.
On the show, her family said they were ‘‘adamant’’ Ms Haag did not commit suicide.
They believed the messages left by Ms Haag in her dying moments proved that. Sunday Night said police interpreted the messages to mean Guizzon drove her to suicide.