Australian mum’s body found eaten by dog: ‘I just ran out screaming and screaming’
Australian mum’s body found eaten by dog: ‘I just ran out screaming and screaming’
- Lasonya Dutton was found dead in March 2022
- The police assumed that she had taken her own life
- Her family assumes that the mother of two children was murdered
- Warning: Story contains photos of a deceased indigenous person
The grieving family of a young Indigenous mother of two has spoken out about the horrific moment an uncle found her decomposing body eaten by a dog and her struggle to learn the truth about her death.
Lasonya Dutton, 31, was missing for several days when her body was discovered just four meters from the kitchen window of her family home in the remote northwest New South Wales town of Wilcannia in March 2022.
Her tragic death rocked the small town of fewer than 750 people, but nearly 18 months later, her distraught family doesn’t know how or why she died.
Police ruled Lasonya’s death a suicide after an electrical cable was found near her body. However, a coroner said in an autopsy report that “third party involvement” could not be ruled out and considered the circumstances of Lasonya’s death suspicious.
Lasonya’s father, Keith Dutton, remains determined to seek justice.
Lasonya’s grieving family believes the mother of two was murdered and did not take her own life. Source: NITV
Mr Dutton, who received the autopsy report almost a year after Lasonya’s death, insists his daughter did not commit suicide because she loved life as much as their two children.
“My family and I believe she was murdered. “This autopsy report states that a third party cannot be ruled out, and it goes on to say that the matter has been thoroughly investigated,” he said Adelaide Advertiser.
“I don’t know how the police conclude that a full investigation has been conducted.”
“I’m appalled to be honest. My family knows, and half of Wilcannia knows… I’m ready to explode.’
Lasonya’s uncle Merle Dutton was horrified to find the mother’s decomposing body in the family’s backyard.
Wilcannia Lasonya Dutton was found dead in her family’s backyard in March 2022
The NSW Coroners Court is currently investigating the tragic death of Lasonya Dutton
When he went outside, he initially thought the dog was eating a kangaroo.
“I didn’t think anything of it until I got a little closer, then I realized it was human.” “I just ran out screaming and screaming,” he said.
He claims the police never took a formal statement from him, even though he was the one who found Lasonya’s body.
Keith Dutton is amazed at how his daughter could lie in the backyard for so long without her family seeing her, especially when the home was a focal point for locals.
He claims a neighbor told him that he saw two people trying to break into Lasonya’s house the night before her body was found.
There were also rumors that people saw Lasonya being attacked on Friday night when she was last seen and that a bloody knife was found at the local oval.
Mr Dutton went to police with these claims, but claimed officers “didn’t want to hear it”.
The NSW Coroner’s Court has now taken over the investigation from the police and is preparing a judicial inquiry.
NSW Police insist they have investigated various lines of inquiry into Lasonya’s death and have been in touch with the family on several occasions during the investigation.
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