NT coroner hand down inquest findings into death of Shane Tapp, rejects ‘accidental downing’ police theory

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Northern Territory coroner has handed down her findings into the bizarre circumstances surrounding the death of Katherine man Shane Tapp. She casts a critical eye on the police investigation that followed and confirmed the case remains unsolved.

Transcript

00:00 A territory family that fought to be heard and today was vindicated.

00:07 I'm feeling like we got the answer that we knew was coming, that it wasn't an accident

00:11 and it wasn't suicide.

00:13 Shane Tapp was 43 years old when his body was found washed up along the Catherine River,

00:18 more than a week after he was reported missing in April 2021.

00:23 We knew from day one that something wasn't right.

00:25 Within days NT Police ruled his death as non-suspicious, alleging Mr Tapp, a known drug dealer, died

00:32 by accidental drowning, despite locating a machete balaclava and a bag containing $25,000

00:40 in cash where they believe he fell in.

00:43 Concluding the coronial inquest into Mr Tapp's death, Coroner Elizabeth Armitage said she

00:48 was not at all persuaded by NT Police's theory that he died by accidental drowning and said

00:55 the case remained unsolved.

00:57 In handing down her findings, Judge Armitage wrote, "It is relatively shallow at the edge

01:02 of the bank and there are a number of branches and snags that Mr Tapp could easily have held

01:06 onto in the event that he slipped in.

01:09 The inquest has also received evidence that Mr Tapp was a good swimmer."

01:13 A welcome finding for Mr Tapp's grandmother who lobbied for the inquest to happen.

01:18 There's $20,000 lying here on the ground along with a balaclava and a machete and a what

01:23 have you and they're not suspicious.

01:26 Come on.

01:27 There's people like my cousin that get lost in that underworld I guess and they slip through

01:31 the cracks.

01:32 An outback underworld that's reopened a police investigation.

01:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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