The NSW state coroner has recommended the death of 25-year-old Melbourne man Jackson Stacker be referred to homicide detectives.
Stacker’s body was found badly decomposed in a paddock alongside the M1 motorway at Sleepy Hollow on August 25, 2021. A large hunting knife was lodged in his left chest, while his skull was located 14 metres away.
The ABC reported that State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan said there was no evidence the knife belonged to Mr Stacker and police had been unable to determine its origin.
‘She said this could form part of the primary evidence of homicide’, they reported.
‘The coroner said she was unable to make formal findings as to the manner or cause of Mr Stacker’s death’.
‘She referred to evidence from forensic pathologists during the inquest that the decomposition of Mr Stacker’s body created “limitations” to determining his cause of death.
‘Forensics were also unable to reveal whether the knife wound was self-inflicted or caused by an assailant.
‘She found Mr Stacker died some time between July 22, 2021, when he was last seen alive, and August 25, 2021, when police discovered his body’.
‘The inquest also examined whether there had been inadequacies in the police response to Mr Stacker’s death, particularly in relation to police initially regarding the death as a suicide.
‘The coroner said she was unable to find the investigation was inadequate.
‘However, she found it would have been appropriate to refer the case to the homicide squad and there was insufficient explanation as to why there was a delay in establishing a strike force’, the ABC reported.
There are no findings on his death published at https://coroners.nsw.gov.au/.
When asked why, a Courts Media Officer told The Echo, ‘We’re still waiting on the finalised copy of the Stacker findings at this stage. There can occasionally be delays in the written findings being published due to adjustments and amendments that may be raised by the parties during the findings. We’ll provide a copy as soon as we’ve received them from the Registrar!’
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