A coronial inquest into the death of a 13-year-old First Nations boy who died after sleeping rough in an industrial skip bin has heard he was missing for five days before his death.
The teenager — whose family has requested that he be referred to as Budda Spencer for cultural reasons — died in May 2021 after a garbage truck driver tipped the bin during a usual collection round in Port Lincoln.
The boy was sleeping alongside two other young boys, aged 11 and 12, who were under the Department for Child Protection's care. They were not harmed in the incident.
Today, special counsel assisting the coroner, Rebecca Schell, told the inquest the boys had made a decision, before Budda Spencer's death, to not return to their respective homes that night. "The trio had not slept in the bin before this night," Ms Schell said. "It was a cold night, but it was warm in the bin and they used cardboard to keep themselves warm."
The special counsel said all three boys awoke almost immediately before they were being tipped into the back of the truck. The court heard one of the younger boys managed to scramble out of the bin to warn the driver.
The inquest heard Budda Spencer died in the process of trying to escape the garbage truck. Ms Schell told the court that upon noticing Budda's friend "frantically waving his arms", the driver stopped immediately.
The inquest, which is expected to focus on whether the boy's family had appropriate agency support, is being heard before deputy state coroner Naomi Kereru in Port Lincoln, and will move to Adelaide next week.
Ms Schell told the court the teenager was a "kind, fantastic storyteller who made his friends laugh".
'Was he appropriately supported?'
The court heard that, in the five days before his death when Budda Spencer was missing from home, the boy was spotted at a youth event, and that he had also slept rough at a football oval grandstand in Port Lincoln.
The court heard the police located Budda Spencer during the five-day period and attempted to take him to his house.
The court also heard the boy had a good rapport with an OTR petrol station worker who regularly bought him food. Ms Schell told the court he confided in her, saying "home life was not good".
She said that the night before the boy's death, his two friends were "listed as missing with the police".
Ms Schell said the inquest would consider whether Budda Spencer's family had appropriate support from various organisations in the lead-up to his death.
The court heard Budda Spencer's mother Deborah Betts made multiple reports to various agencies about her concerns relating to her son and that she was having trouble making him stay at home.
The inquest is expected to hear from SA Police, West Coast Youth and Community Services, Youth Justice and the Department for Child Protection.
"If not, what intervention should have been initiated by the Department for Child Protection?"
Ms Betts attended court today with her son's grandmother. Budda Spencer's aunty also attended, and at times comforted Ms Betts while she heard details about her son's death.
