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Josh Warneke's mother Ingrid Bishop tells inquest 'system failures' let down her family

Sept. 28, 2024 - 10:13 By ABC NEWS (Australia)

Joshua Warneke's body was found by Old Broome Road in February 2010 and the coronial inquest heard theories as to how he died, as well as police failings His mother attended court every day, in Broome and then in Perth. "I'm exhausted. You know I'm about to catch a plane and go home and see Matt my son and I'm really looking forward to that. It's been a respectful process, the coroner has presided very very respectfully over the whole two weeks." Gene Gibson, who pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Josh Warneke, was acquitted after a successful appeal. The court heard today from two men who'd worked on an internal police review while Mr Gibson was still in prison, they found that the guilty plea was "unsafe" and there wasn't enough evidence to convict him. Ms Bishop says she's concerned about what happened when her son's body was found.. "So I think we need to make it very clear that the only protected forensic area around Josh was the road closures. So, there was no protected area around Josh where he lay, the ground around him, the verges and Josh's body." This week the inquest heard competing theories on what caused Mr Warneke's fatal head injury. Doctor Clive Cooke was one of two forensic pathologists who believed it was likely he was hit by a vehicle while lying on the road. But another expert said he believed the 21-year-old was hit with a machete, star picket or other edged weapon. Ingrid Bishop told the inquest that while her family was continuing to learn how to live without Josh. They also had to live with the systemic failure of his murder investigation. She said she'd continue to hold Josh's hand through what she described as a horrific and never-ending ordeal. "So I've met with Commissioner Blanch this afternoon and the current investigation into the murder of Josh is ongoing." The coroner will take further submissions from counsel before finalising her report.