Forensic pathologist shortage delays justice in NSW
It is difficult to confirm the extent of the issue, but the ABC is aware of at least three murder trials delayed by the slow delivery of forensic pathology reports.
Law Society of NSW president Jennifer Ball said any delay in criminal proceedings was stressful for all involved, particularly when the alleged offence involved homicide.
"Delays in these cases bring additional stress to victims' families and friends, and can potentially affect the quality of witnesses' evidence," she said.
Lismore solicitor Jim Fuggle said the "blowout" increased the cost of justice.
He said it also hindered the process of certifying charges in the legislated six-month timeframe and potentially extended the time an accused person remained in custody on remand.
"You can imagine, from all sides of proceedings, it affects people," Mr Fuggle said.
"Sometimes there is conflict within a community over incidents and [delays] don't help resolve that in any way, shape or form.
In Lismore Local Court, Magistrate Michael Dakin recently noted the "significant delays" in the matter of Dwayne John Creighton, accused of killing Sarah Miles at Casino in June 2024.
Mr Creighton's case has been mentioned at least eight times since he was first arrested in the days after her death, and he remains in custody with a murder charge only certified this week.
The court recently heard the pathologist had completed the toxicology report, but further testing related to the cause of death was required.
The case against Alexander Repin, accused of murdering an elderly home owner at Lismore in 2023, also came to a standstill last year.
In October, the prosecutor said the matter was ready to proceed but could go no further as a forensic pathology report remained outstanding, despite two formal requests from police and the prosecution.
Mr Repin is yet to enter a plea to murder and being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence.
The same issue plagued the preliminary stages of the case against Robert Karl Huber, who is set to stand trial in June before the Supreme Court in Coffs Harbour.
Mr Huber is accused of killing Lindy Lucena in a laneway in Ballina in January 2023.
Without a forensic pathology report, the charges against Mr Huber were unable to be certified and Ballina Local Court Magistrate Karen Stafford was forced to adjourn the matter on at least two separate occasions.
After the second adjournment, Ms Lucena's sister Julie Viney, who has since died, said delays in the court process had left the family in limbo.
"I don't know what information they want from this but I can't believe there isn't a pathologist that can do this specific test," Ms Vine told the ABC at the time.
Mr Huber eventually pleaded not guilty to murder, more than 21 months after Ms Lucena's death.
In another case, mother of two Jamikka Binge-Olive died in 2023, five weeks after she was assaulted in the bathrooms of a licensed venue at Casino in northern NSW.
In the months after her death, her family told the ABC they had been advised to expect a 12-month wait for an autopsy report.
A coronial inquest into her death is now set to be held in November.
New South Wales Courts and Tribunals said it did not gather data on how many cases were adjourned awaiting a pathology report, and it was not aware of any other agency gathering the information.
New South Wales Health Pathology said there was a national and international shortage of specialist forensic pathologists, and it was short-staffed as a result.
"NSW Health Pathology continues to make every effort to recruit forensic pathologists to fill vacancies, as well as train new forensic pathologists," a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said NSW Health Pathology worked at the direction of the NSW Coroner, with around 8,000 unexplained or unexpected deaths referred to the coroner a year.
They said time frames for reports were affected by factors including staffing, case complexity and ancillary testing requirements.
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