Stephen Dudley died of heart arrhythmia, coroner finds
A West Auckland high school has been cleared of blame in a student’s death.
Coroner Gordon Matenga’s report into the death of Stephen Eruwera Dudley, released yesterday, will likely bring little closure for his parents after they slammed the school for having a ‘‘culture of violence’’.
They are calling for police to reopen an investigation into the death of their 15-year-old son and charge his two attackers with manslaughter, according to lawyer Nikki Pender, who represented the Dudley family at the inquest.
‘‘What the family would like is for a review with a view to laying a manslaughter charge. I think there’s a very strong argument,’’ she said.
‘‘You can’t argue there’s double jeopardy, because neither boy has ever faced trial for manslaughter.’’
Stephen died on June 6, 2013, following a brawl on school grounds after rugby practice.
Police initially charged his two attackers with manslaughter, but withdrew the charges after receiving medical opinions.
The two brothers later pleaded guilty to assault and were both discharged without conviction.
Father Brent Dudley said at the coroner’s inquest he was ‘‘gutted’’ by the way the family had been treated.
He claimed he and his wife had been kept in the dark by the school and police.
‘‘We lost our son while he was in your care, and I think you guys could have put a bit more bloody effort into it,’’ he said.
In his report, Matenga said the school already had a zerotolerance policy on violence, and rejected any suggestion the school may be to blame.
The coroner found Stephen died of cardiac arrest and suffered from previously undiagnosed heart conditions.
The cause of death ‘‘was cardiac arrhythmia due to stress associated with a physical assault in the context of cardiac sarcoid involving the cardiac conduction system’’.
The school had already introduced additional anti-violence, anti-bullying and personal development programmes, and further recommendations were unnecessary, Matenga said.
‘‘There is no evidence to support the suggestion that further programmes are likely to reduce the chances of further deaths occurring in similar circumstances.’’
The coroner did recommend the school develop a programme for year 9 students to learn how to perform CPR and use an automated external defibrillator (AED) as part of their basic first aid training.
He also recommended the Ministry of Education develop guidelines for schools on purchasing AEDs, including appropriate training for staff and students.
The coroner rejected a request that the parents of Stephen’s attackers be forced to make a donation to the school, saying he had ‘‘no power to make such a recommendation’’.
The name of the high school Stephen attended is suppressed.
A communications adviser said in a statement the school acknowledged the coroner’s recommendations and had already sought to implement them.