Progress of a murder investigation in regional NSW
Early one Friday morning, a boy is found dead. He is 17, a year 12 student at the nearby high school. He is found in a park, which is not very busy, as it is a small distance from the town centre. It's one of the town's "Historical Sights". The community is about 10,000 people, quite a few of those are farmers. The boy is a townie.
The boy is one of the few openly gay members of the town, certainly the only openly gay highschooler. He has made complaints to police about harassment, mainly pranks, his house and car have been egged and tped (toilet papered), but he has received hate mail which he has shown to police. He lives with his single mother, his father died in a car accident some years ago.
His body shows signs of torture. An autopsy will reveal drugs in his system, there were no defensive wounds. Cause of death was a slit throat.
My question is, how will the investigation progress? I know there will be an inquest, but how long will this inquest take? When will his body be released? Who will investigate? The rural cops, or NSW Serious Crime out of Parramatta? When does an inquest become a murder investigation? Will cops assume it's a hate crime? What happens when three months later, a second body, this time a 16 year old girl, is found?
I have googled "nsw murder", "nsw police investigation", "nsw coronial inquest", "nsw murder investigation", "nsw hate crime", "serial killer australia" and many combinations of the above. I have read the NSW Police website, and numerous Coroner's Court transcripts. I still can't figure it out. I'd love an answer, or even just a book recommendation, or a new search direction.
The boy is one of the few openly gay members of the town, certainly the only openly gay highschooler. He has made complaints to police about harassment, mainly pranks, his house and car have been egged and tped (toilet papered), but he has received hate mail which he has shown to police. He lives with his single mother, his father died in a car accident some years ago.
His body shows signs of torture. An autopsy will reveal drugs in his system, there were no defensive wounds. Cause of death was a slit throat.
My question is, how will the investigation progress? I know there will be an inquest, but how long will this inquest take? When will his body be released? Who will investigate? The rural cops, or NSW Serious Crime out of Parramatta? When does an inquest become a murder investigation? Will cops assume it's a hate crime? What happens when three months later, a second body, this time a 16 year old girl, is found?
I have googled "nsw murder", "nsw police investigation", "nsw coronial inquest", "nsw murder investigation", "nsw hate crime", "serial killer australia" and many combinations of the above. I have read the NSW Police website, and numerous Coroner's Court transcripts. I still can't figure it out. I'd love an answer, or even just a book recommendation, or a new search direction.