Weeks before she died in a grisly house fire south of Brisbane, Doreen Langham was given a chilling warning she had three weeks to live.
On the first day of a coronial inquest into the woman’s 2021 death, police bodycam footage captured Ms Langham recounting the disturbing threats her ex-partner Gary Hely issued after she ended their relationship.
“He (Gary) said for the next three weeks I better enjoy my life because he’s already paid; I could be T-boned, sniper shot or bashed,” Ms Langham says to the officer in the footage.
Ms Langham died in her Browns Plains home on February 22 last year after a fire broke out in the early hours of the morning.
Her body was discovered alongside Hely’s.
On Monday, emotional scenes unfolded at Southport Magistrates Court as a police officer involved in the investigation broke down while giving evidence, forcing a brief adjournment.
Ms Langham’s family and friends filled the public gallery.
Ben Jackson, counsel assisting the coroner, opened the inquest by saying Ms Langham’s final moments would have been filled with “utter terror”.
Mr Jackson said Hely had forced his way into Ms Langham’s home early in the morning, bringing with him some five litres of petrol.
The court was told Ms Langham had been subjected to months of controlling, abusive behaviour at the hands of Hely before she ended the relationship.
Mr Jackson said Ms Langham was staying at a friend’s home weeks before she died when she was visited by police.
“Ms Langham’s interaction with those officers would be representative of so many inadequacies in the response of the QPS to her plight,” he said.
“Her complaints were not properly investigated. She had done all she could, she showed herself to be intelligent and articulate, she was nobody’s fool.
“She knew the danger … and as the days went by she did all she could to give police what they needed to bring Hely to account and try and get him to stop.”
The inquest itself will examine the adequacy of the police response to Ms Langham’s complaints about Hely and their response to her triple-0 calls the night she perished.
It will also examine whether any changes should be made to official procedures or policies to reduce the likelihood of deaths occurring in similar circumstances or “otherwise contribute to public health and safety or the administration of justice”.
On Monday, a police officer who spoke with Ms Langham before her death gave evidence of her initial interactions with the woman while she was at Marsden.
The officer did not ask Ms Langham if she was fearful and relied “too much on her demeanour” when she interviewed her.
She said on reflection she would have asked “more probing questions” and asked if there was any previous history of violence.
The inquest, before deputy state coroner Jane Bentley, continues.
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