Bali. The death of Australian national Byron James Dumschat, also known as Byron Haddow, drew public attention after his family revealed irregularities in the repatriation of his body, as it was returned without his heart.

Dumschat was found dead at a villa in Badung, Bali, on May 26.

The family’s legal representative from Malekat Hukum Law Firm, Ni Luh Arie Ratna Sukasari, said in a press conference in Badung on Wednesday that this was only discovered after the body was repatriated to Australia, nearly four weeks after his death.

Ratna explained that before the funeral, the family was shocked to learn that their son’s heart had not been returned with his body.

“Our client only found out that their son’s heart was still in Indonesia, without any formal request or approval from the relevant authorities for retaining the organ,” she said on Wednesday.

Amid the uncertainty surrounding the cause of death and the reason for retaining the heart, Ngoerah General Hospital in Denpasar arranged for the organ’s return without offering clarification. Moreover, the hospital even asked Dumschat’s family to cover an additional cost of 700 Australian dollars for the organ’s repatriation, she said.

The heart was eventually returned to Queensland on August 11, more than two months after his death. Ratna said that Dumschat was found in a swimming pool, with the autopsy results showing injuries including bruises, bleeding, and head trauma.

These medical findings raised serious questions and contradicted the simple explanation that Dumschat's body was merely found in the pool, especially since there was still no clarity on whether he was declared dead at the scene or at the hospital.

“The autopsy findings, the condition of the body, as well as the fact that witnesses at the scene did not immediately report the incident, further strengthen suspicions of irregularities, leading to the possibility of an unnatural death,” she added.

Moreover, the incident was only followed up by the police on May 30, four days after Dumschat's death. At the time of the incident, three other Australians were present at the villa: identified as BPW, KP, and JL.

The family expressed disappointment, questioning the police’s decision to allow the three to leave Bali without being interrogated or providing statements regarding Byron’s death.

Ratna explained that the police had received the official autopsy report from the Forensic and Mortuary Department of RSUP Prof. Ngoerah (Sanglah Hospital), which stated that an external examination had been carried out on May 30 at 10:14 p.m. local time, and an internal examination on June 4 at 10:43 a.m.

The police also reportedly summoned Dr. Nola Margaret Gunawan, the doctor who issued the autopsy report dated July 29, to provide further testimony and clarification to investigators.

“The family also highlighted financial transactions made prior to his death, which they believe may provide clues about his movements leading up to the incident,” she said.

Therefore, the family considered it crucial for law enforcement to trace these financial flows, identify the parties involved, and link them to existing witness testimonies, in order to uncover the truth.

Separately, the Medical and Nursing Director of Ngoerah Hospital, Dr. I Made Darmajaya, confirmed that an autopsy had indeed been performed on the Australian national, Byron James Dumschat.

He said that the examination of Byron’s heart was conducted at the request of the North Kuta Police, Badung Resort Police.

He further explained that in such cases, the heart must be removed intact, as identifying the specific area where abnormalities are found is not an easy task.

Once the examinations were completed, Byron’s heart was returned. The repatriation of the organ was carried out after his body had already been flown back to Australia.  “This was due to the longer time required to process the organ for anatomical pathology examination,” he said.

To date, Badung Police have yet to provide any answers regarding the results of Byron James Dumschat’s autopsy or the cause of his death.

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