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Grieving family claims son’s body was returned from Bali with one organ missing
A grieving Queensland family says the body of their son was returned from Bali without his heart.
A grieving Queensland family says the body of their son was returned from Bali without his heart. The missing organ was only discovered during a second autopsy in Australia, weeks after his remains were repatriated.
Young Australian dies in Bali
The man, a 23-year-old FIFO worker named Byron Haddow, was found unconscious in a pool at a private villa on May 26. Indonesian authorities listed his cause of death as drowning, according to a report in news.com.au.
The case was not reported to police until four days later, and by the time officers attended, the scene had already been contaminated.
Shocking discovery in Australia
Four weeks after his death, Byron’s body was flown home. But when a second autopsy was conducted in Queensland, his parents learned his heart was missing.
His mother said her heart “literally dropped” when she was told.
“We thought at least we could say goodbye to him and lay him to rest,” she said. “But then to learn they’d taken his heart and that no one else knew, not even the consulate in Bali, was a big shock.”
The family later paid $700 to have the organ returned months after Byron’s funeral.
Family demands answers
Robert and Chantal Haddow, Byron’s parents, say they have endured “delay after delay, half-truths and silence” in their search for answers.
“His body was only returned nearly four weeks after his death. But two days before his funeral, we were told by the Queensland Coroner his heart had been taken and left behind in Bali — without our knowledge, without our consent, without any legal or moral justification. This is inhumane. This is devastating beyond words,” they said in a statement.
While Indonesian authorities ruled Byron’s death as drowning, his family has questioned that finding. His mother pointed out that he also had cuts on his body.
“None of what they say about him drowning in a plunge pool adds up,” she said. “I strongly believe he was set up, drugged, robbed, and it all went bad. That’s my opinion.”
A Balinese coroner said they could not confirm whether his death was an accident, suicide or homicide.
