Arabic version: جلسة تحقيق تسمع أن فتى من بورت لينكولن كان مفقوداً خمسة أيام

According to ABC News, a coronial inquest has heard that 13-year-old First Nations boy Budda Spencer was missing from home for five days before he died in Port Lincoln in May 2021. His family has requested he be referred to by that name for cultural reasons.

The court heard Budda Spencer and two other boys, aged 11 and 12, had decided not to return to their homes one night and slept in an industrial skip bin. The two younger boys were under the Department for Child Protection’s care. Special counsel assisting the coroner Rebecca Schell said the trio had not slept in the bin before, had planned to stay awake, but fell asleep in the cold night after using cardboard to keep warm.

A garbage truck driver collected the bin during a usual round. The inquest heard all three boys awoke shortly before they were tipped into the truck, and one of the younger boys scrambled out to warn the driver. Budda Spencer died while trying to escape. Ms Schell said the driver stopped immediately after seeing the boy’s friend frantically waving his arms. The other two boys were not harmed.

The inquest, before deputy state coroner Naomi Kereru, is being held in Port Lincoln and will move to Adelaide next week. It is expected to examine whether Budda Spencer’s family received appropriate support from agencies before his death. The court heard he had been seen at a youth event, slept at a football oval grandstand and was located by police during the five-day period, but ran off after no one answered the door at his house. The inquest is expected to hear from SA Police, West Coast Youth and Community Services, Youth Justice and the Department for Child Protection.