Court hears boy who died sleeping rough in skip bin was missing for days
An inquest hears harrowing details about the death of a boy who had been sleeping rough in an industrial skip bin at Port Lincoln. WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
An inquest is currently examining the death of a 13-year-old boy who died after sleeping in a skip bin in Port Lincoln in 2021. The boy, who was First Nations, was sleeping alongside two other young boys, both under the care of the Department for Child Protection. The inquest will explore whether the boy's family received adequate support and will hear from authorities including the Department for Child Protection.
A special counsel assisting the coroner, Rebecca Schell, stated that the three boys decided not to return home that night and had not slept in the bin before. They planned to stay awake but all fell asleep. The cold night and warmth of the bin led them to sleep. One of the younger boys managed to alert the driver before Budda Spencer attempted to climb out.
The driver stopped immediately upon seeing his friend waving frantically. The inquest, presided over by deputy state coroner Naomi Kereru in Port Lincoln, will also consider whether the boy's family received adequate support from various organizations leading up to his death.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
