Police errors, no legal representation and strict bail laws: why was Veronica Nelson behind bars when she died?

Veronica Nelson was jailed three times in the last 12 months of her life, but had never been sentenced to a period of imprisonment as an adult.

The Yorta Yorta, Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung and Wiradjuri woman died in custody while on remand for shoplifting offences on 2 January 2020.

The evidence so far has detailed how police errors, a lack of legal representation and a change to bail laws contributed to putting Nelson behind bars.

Nelson was arrested outside Southern Cross station at 3.35pm on 30 December and taken to the Melbourne West police station.

She was arrested on two outstanding warrants relating to failing to attend the Koori court in Shepparton to be sentenced for shoplifting charges. Police had also issued three whereabouts notices, seeking to interview her in relation to further shoplifting incidents alleged to have occurred in October and November 2019.

The remand form to be presented before the magistrate was completed by senior constable Rebecca Gauci.

But she agreed, under questioning from Nathwani that there was no evidence of Nelson ever acting in a violent or even confrontational manner.

Under Victorian law, police must notify the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) when an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person is taken into custody. That notification was made about 4pm on 30 December 2019.

VALS says they made a total of four attempts to contact Nelson between 4.27pm and midnight. They did not get through.

Prior is the principal legal officer of the Law and Advocacy Centre for Women and had acted for Nelson since December 2018, when she was on remand on shoplifting charges.

The next morning, on 31 December 2019, Prior had a phone conversation with a barrister named Tass Antos and briefed him to represent Nelson in her bail application. Antos spoke to Nelson in the cells.

But when her bail application was called, Nelson represented herself and was denied bail.

He agreed under cross-examination that he may have offered Nelson the option of representing herself so as not to jeopardise a future bail application.

It previously applied only to very serious offences, like murder, but the act was changed in 2018 to broaden the circumstances for which this test can be applied

On Tuesday, Sharon Lacy, the counsel assisting the coroner, said that 61.4% of all Aboriginal women held in Victorian prisons as of 1 June 2021, were held on remand.

The inquest continues.