Note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
An inquest into the death of an Aboriginal man while he was being restrained by police officers in an Alice Springs supermarket last year will examine hundreds of witness statements over four weeks in 2027.
Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White, 24, died in police custody in a Coles supermarket on May 27, 2025, with the Northern Territory’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last month recommending no criminal charges be laid over his death.
At a directions hearing in the Alice Springs Local Court today, Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage set down her inquiry into Mr White’s death for four weeks starting from April 5 next year.
Peggy Dwyer says she expects the coronial brief of evidence to contain hundreds of witness statements. (ABC News: Samantha Jonscher)
Counsel assisting the coroner, Peggy Dwyer SC, said the inquest had not been able to be listed until the criminal investigation was finalised and would examine “the circumstances of why and how he came to be restrained”.
“The coroner’s investigations have continued while we’ve been waiting, so a lot of work has been done,” she said.
“The aim of an inquest is to get a truthful and proper account of what happened in the lead-up to Kumanjayi’s death.
“We get that evidence to determine if there was any opportunity to do something differently that might have preserved Kumanjayi’s life and to understand the circumstances.“
Dr Dwyer said the inquest had been delayed until next year at the request of Mr White’s family so that all the evidence could be heard in one four-week block.
“I expect that by the time we are ready to start the inquest, the brief of evidence will include hundreds of statements from different sources, including interviews with the people who saw what happened in the supermarket, or the people who worked with Kumanjayi before he died, including his doctors and his counsellors and his disability supports,” she said.
“It’ll include statements from families, from police officers and from employees at the supermarket and it will also include some expert witnesses who weren’t involved but who can comment on what happened, to help Your Honour and everybody understand what took place.”
Last year, mourners performed a finishing-up ceremony inside the Coles supermarket where Kumanjayi White died.
Dr Dwyer said one of those witnesses would be “one of the country’s most experience pathologists”, who had prepared a report at the request of Mr White’s family.
“Soon after Kumanjayi passed away, his family wanted to have the circumstances looked at by their own pathologist who they chose, so that they could be satisfied that the investigation was independent,”
she said.
Death investigated by ‘independent’ police
Dr Dwyer said a team of “independent police officers outside of the command where the involved officers work” had been appointed to assist the court, led by veteran NT Police detective Superintendent Lee Morgan.
“He’s a very experienced police officer in the Northern Territory, he’s worked in bush communities and he’s worked in towns and he’s been involved in investigating inquests before, thoroughly and independently,” she said.
A vigil for Kumanjayi White was held in Alice Springs in June last year with the crowd walking to the supermarket where he died. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)
“He’s already provided excellent assistance to the counsel assisting team and he will continue his work under the guidance of the counsel assisting team, including throughout the inquest process.
“[The rest of the team] also don’t know any off the officers involved in trying to arrest Kumanjayi in May last year, they’ve also worked with Aboriginal families for many years and they’re interested in working with Kumanjayi’s family and with witnesses to put the true story before Your Honour.”
Judge Armitage also extended an order suppressing CCTV and body-worn camera footage from the supermarket from publication after Dr Dwyer told the court Mr White’s family was still yet to see it.
Elisabeth Armitage will oversee the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi White, in April 2027. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)
“There are logistical issues involved in making sure that the right people in the family can watch that sad footage in a sensitive way,” Dr Dwyer said.
“We’re taking the lead from family in that regard, to make sure that we show them at a time that is right for them and with the right people around and with interpreters, if that’s appropriate.”
The inquest will return to court for a further directions hearing on December 4.
