Inquest into the disappearance and suspected death of Daphne Hampstead

CORONERS COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES Inquest: Into the death of Daphne Hampstead File number: 2012/00196243 Hearing dates: 15 September 2020 Date of findings: 16 September 2020 Place of findings: Coroners Court, Lidcombe Findings of: Deputy State Coroner E.Truscott Catchwords: Coronial Law-Cause and manner of deathRepresentation: Advocate Assisting: Ms B Notley Findings: Identity Daphne Pearl Hampstead nee Jones (known in Queensland as Daphne Pearl Jones) Date of Death 7 November 2007 Place of Death Maryborough Hospital, Maryborough, Queensland Cause of death (1) (a) Liver Metastasis

(b) Rectal Malignancy (2) Calcinosis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, Sclerodactyly, Telangiectasia (CREST syndrome).

Manner of death Natural whilst a patient in hospital

IN THE CORONERS COURT LIDCOMBE NSW Section 81 Coroners Act 2009 Reasons for Decision

1. This is a fresh inquest under s83 (4) of the Coroners Act 2009. An earlier inquest was held on 19 December 2012 where then Deputy State Coroner MacMahon made a finding that Daphne Pearl Hampstead had died. However, he was not able to make a finding as to date, place, and manner and cause of death. Since that time further evidence has been gathered which now enables findings to be made in that regard.

Background

2. Daphne Pearl’s birth was registered by her mother Eva Jones (nee Billingsley) at Cootamundra NSW on 25 July 1918 from which a birth certificate was issued.1 That certificate records that Daphne Pearl was born on 15 July 1918 at “Nurse O’Brien’s Private Hospital”. This is a handwritten document and there is conjecture about whether it is 13 or 15. However, Daphne and her family apparently understood her birthday to be 13 July.2

3. Daphne’s father was Frederick Jones who at that time of her birth was aged 26.

He had been born in Goulburn. He was a farmer. Daphne’s mother Eva had married Frederick on 26 July 2017 in Cootamundra NSW. It is not known where Eva was born but she was 20 years of age when she gave birth to Daphne Pearl who was their first child. Frederick and Eva had 4 more daughters Lucy, Pamela, Linda and Eva.

1 Brief of Evidence Tab 13, Registered Birth Certificate of Daphne Pearl Jones Brief of Evidence Tab 6 Statement of Daphne Lillian Hadley (nee Hampstead) dated 4 September 2012 and tendered in the 2012 inquest contains much history.

4. In 1936, Daphne married Sidney Thomas Hampstead in Cootamundra. At that time Sidney was aged 27 and Daphne would have been 18.3 During the following 10 years they had eight children4. The family lived in various locations in NSW Cootamundra, Tumut, Grafton, Taree, Oxley Island and Muswellbrook where Daphne and Sidney worked as share farmers.

5. Daphne and Sidney purchased their own farm at Scone. However, in 1956 due to financial difficulties, the farm was sold, and the family moved to Crosby’s dairy, Bossley Park in 1956. By that stage their two eldest daughters had each married and they continued to live in Muswellbrook.5

6. Daphne was a loving mother who enjoyed cooking and was apparently social and engaging. Daphne and Sidney are described to have had a loving relationship however Sidney was possessive and jealous and violent to Daphne.

7. After leaving the farm in Scone and moving to Bossley Park the domestic violence became more frequent. Daphne worked in the city as a cook (under than name Daphne Hanson or Hamson) and she would leave home early in the morning and return about 4 pm. However, as time went on her returning hours became later around 10 pm and Sidney likely suspected she was having an affair and he became more obsessive.

8. On 10 May 1958, a couple of months prior to her 40th birthday, Daphne left the house with most of her clothes and photos having arranged a taxi to pick her up.

Two days later Sid received a letter in Daphne’s hand which had a post mark indicating Fairfield postmark. Daphne had also sent a letter to her daughter Daphne Lillian asking her to look after her father and her younger brothers and sisters.

9. The first page of the letter to Sid reads “ My darling Sid, Oh darling what it is costing me to write this letter, you will never know. I left work today, I just can’t go on. I thought there was no love left at home for me at all. But I have realised how wrong I was over the last week. I think it has been a week I shall never 3 Brief of Evidence Tab 14, Registered Death certificate of Sidney Hampstead 4 Leslie (17 July 1937), Patricia (26 June 1938), Marcia (3 February 1938), Daphne Lillian (23 November 1940), twins Barry and Clifford (23 October 1943), Helen (29 November 1944) and Janet (7 April 1949).

Patricia and Marcia were both married by this time and continued to live in Muswellbrook.

forget, I am going away for a while (by myself) don’t worry about me, I will be okay. I know now I can always come to you for understanding I do wish I had known that before dear. There is only one thing that I am asking you and that…”

10. Daphne Lillian found a letter from a man called Eugene who lived in Tasmania and it was speculated that her mother had left the family to join Eugene as he told her he would pick her up from the airport. However, the letter had been ripped in pieces whether it was by Sid or by Daphne is unknown.

11. Five years after Daphne left the family, one of the twins, Barry who was by then a young man of 19 was critically ill in hospital. Somehow, Daphne knew about this as she sent a letter to her Barry postmarked from Wyong. In the letter she expressed her concern for Barry but indicating that she could not visit him.

Though she signed if “from someone who loves you very much” it appeared to be her handwriting.

12. Daphne’s departure caused Sidney to be a broken man and he buried his sorrows with alcohol. He lived with Daphne Lillian from 1963 and in early 1973 he moved to Dubbo where he lived the last 6 months of his life with Marcia. He died of bronchopneumonia and arteriosclerotic cerebral disease on 2 May 1973.

He was aged 64. His death certificate records that he was a widower.

Daphne in Queensland

13. In 1973 Daphne Pearl was alive and living in Queensland. From at least 1963 she had been living with de facto husband Roy Shaw at least since 1963-1964 and it was thought that she may have met Roy earlier in Papua New Guinea at a plantation Roy had. In 1963 she was living with Roy in Brisbane and working in a retail sewing machine shop in Isle.6

14. Roy was friends with a man called Raymond Jones who in 1963 had a 15 year old daughter Diann and a wife called Vona who was Diann’s step mother. Roy and Daphne would visit Raymond and in 1972 when they were living in Kingston, Roy died. Vona, who had separated from Raymond died the same year.

Brief of Evidence Tabs 10 and 11, Statements of Tyrone and Diann Green 26.2.2020

15. Daphne and Raymond partnered and held a celebration ceremony of their relationship in 1973. By that stage Diann had married and she and her husband Tyrone Green attended the celebration. They have both provided statements and say that from that point on Daphne was known as Daphne Jones.

16. They also said that Daphne reported that she was from Cootamundra and her father’s name was Frederick Onslow. She was extremely accomplished handling cattle and farm work and said that she had twin sons but mentioned no other children. She was very guarded about her history.

17. Daphne and Ray purchased and renovated houses so moved frequently.

Raymond was an electrician and Daphne was an accomplished seamstress and had an eye for design. Diann described Daphne as very charismatic.

18. In 2003 after living in many locations in Queensland Daphne and Raymond moved to Maryborough. Raymond died of a heart attack aged 74 on 7 July 2004 in Princess Alexandra Hospital in South Brisbane. Daphne lived in Steindil Street Maryborough.

19. Daphne was the informant for Raymond’s death certificate and I note that it says Ray was married. The certificate identifies that his third wife was Daphne Pearl Onslow aged 43 at the time of their marriage though I note that if they partnered in 1972 Daphne would have been 54-55.

20. I note that Daphne Pearl’s Queensland Drivers licence effective 24 October 2004 -23 August 2006 records her date of birth as 13 July 1924 placing her age as being 11 days short of 80 when Roy died. When that photograph was taken she was in fact 86 though she might not even look 80 in it.

21. There are younger photographs of Daphne Pearl which shows that she was a youthful looking woman and from reports of Tyrone and Diann she was very well groomed and it would appear she could easily have been accepted as being 12 years younger than she was.

22. Whether Daphne deliberately adjust the day of her birth from 15 to 13 is unknown, it is entirely possible that somewhere it was handwritten and someone has mis-read it. I note that Ms Notley said in her opening address that Daphne was born on 13 July yet the handwritten entry on the birth certificate appears to me to be 15 July.

23. Diann reports that in 2006 she saw that Daphne was using a paper shredder and remarks that this was consistent with her experience that Daphne would destroy all things about her past, Christmas cards, letters and other documents. Both Diann and Tyrone thought Daphne was very secretive in that regard.

24. Tyrone recalls that in 2007 he and Diann travelled to NSW and visited the Cootamundra cemetery and looked for Daphne’s father’s gravestone. They did not find any Frederick Onslow. Tyrone describes that when they returned to Queensland and told Daphne what they had done she was extremely angry that Diann had been “digging into her past”.

25. On 7 November 2007 Daphne Pearl died in Maryborough Hospital of rectal cancer which had metastasised in her liver. Diann was the informant for Daphne’s death certificate recording Daphne’s age at death as 83 and her father as Frederick Onslow. She identified that Daphne was 49 when she “married” Raymond consistent with Daphne’s birth date on the Queensland Driving record

26. The officer in charge of the investigation has caused a search to be made of the Births Deaths and Marriages NSW Register for birth registrations of Daphne Pearl Jones born 13 July 1924 registered during the period 1 January 1924-31 December 1933 or Daphne Pearl Onslow between1 January 1920- 31 December 1929.

27. The answer is that there is no such registration which is consistent with Daphne having invented her father’s surname as Onslow to secrete her true identity.

Searches in Queensland also demonstrate that Daphne Jones or Onslow or Hampstead never engaged in a registered marriage consistent with her not having actually remarried after she left Sidney back in 1973.

Granddaughter Donna meets Diann and Tyrone Green- Daphne’s identity

28. In 2017 Daphne Pearl’s granddaughter (Daphne’s Lillian’s daughter) Donna Gough7 engaged a private investigator to search for Daphne. The investigator discovered the public records of Daphne’s drivers licence and put Donna in contact with Tyrone and Diann Green. They exchanged and compared photographs of Daphne and each family saw marked similarities of the younger and older Daphne.

29. The photographs were sent to an Australian Federal Police facial recognition expert Aniela Munday. Her report identifies the similarities and differences between the NSW and Queensland photographs concluding that there was limited support that the images are of the same person. I note that the scale of recognition ranges from No support not the same person, limited support not the same person, inconclusive, limited support and support.

30. Ms Munday’s findings are one step from the top of the hierarchical criteria and I note that the respective family’s opinion is that it the one and the same person.

Taking into account that evidence with the other evidence of this case to which I have referred, I am satisfied, on a balance of probabilities that the person identified on the death certificate issued in Queensland Registration Number 2007/61915 recording that Daphne Pearl Jones died on 7 November 2007 is the same person as recorded by Deputy State Coroner McMahon on 19 December 2012 as having died.

31. I note that Deputy State Coroner McMahon’s findings refer to Daphne as being born on 23 July 2017. That date appears on the P79B form completed by the police to advise the coroner of a missing person. I also note that that form refers to Sidney Hampstead as being born on 23 July 1908. Perhaps the dates have been confused.

32. I also note that in Daphne Lillian’s statement she says that her father was born in Bathurst, whereas his death certificate says he was born in Tumut. She says her mother was born 0n 13 July but that may be a misreading of the handwriting on Brief of Evidence Tab 8 Statement of Donna Gough 14 November 2017

the birth certificate - but one would expect her to know Daphne’s birthday from memory.

33. In terms of identity to ensure that there is no confusion about whom I am speaking I find that the identity of the deceased is Daphne Pearl Jones NSW birth certificate Registration number 34725/1918.

Daphne’s death and Findings

34. In terms of date, place, manner and cause of death I will rely on the Queensland Death Certificate Registration Number 2007/61915.

35. I note that Deputy State Coroner McMahon entered his finding in 2012 that Daphne was deceased and that finding is undisturbed except for the date of birth it should read either 13 or 15 July 1918.

36. Daphne Pearl Hampstead nee Jones born on 13 or 15 July 1918 with registered birth certificate Registration number 34725/1918 died in Maryborough Hospital Queensland on 7 November 2007 aged 89 years. She died of Liver Metastasis, Rectal Malignancy diagnosed two months previously. She also had a medical condition contributing to her death but not relationg to the disease or condition causing it: Calcinosis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, Sclerodactyly, Telangiectasia (CREST syndrome). The manner of her death was natural whilst a patient in hospital.

Registry of Births Deaths and Marriage

37. I note that the notice of Daphne’s death exhibited in the newspaper indicated that she was the beloved wife of the late Ray Jones. Loved mother and mother-inlaw of Diann and Tyrone, Ted, Esme (deceased) and Theresa (deceased). The loved Nana of 7 and Great nana of 10.

38. Added to that is she was the mother of eight and grandmother and great grandmother from her NSW family. I hope having the record adjusted to reflect

that Daphne’s death is properly recorded in some way brings a sense of completeness to both Daphne Pearl’s NSW and Queensland families.

39. The Coroners Court Registry will notify the NSW and Queensland Births Deaths and Marriages Registries of these findings so that those records can be completed.

Magistrate E Truscott Deputy State Coroner 16 September 2020